If You Give An Octopus A Cookie
by Gamine Madcap
Summary: After the river, Otto Octavius's life gets very...interesting. Especially thanks to a mute little girl and a faerie that seems to be following him around. Rating may change to M. Please R/R!
1. Prologue: After the River

A/N: Hello all. A couple of things to keep in mind:

1) This story is co-authored between Madcap and Obi's Second Cousin. You can find Obi's writer profile here: .net/u/1253199/Obis_Second_Cousin

2) This story does touch on child abuse and its effects. No abuse is actually shown, but if you're sensitive towards this type of material, you might want to proceed with caution.

3) Thoughts of the actuators are expressed in italics.

Disclaimer: Neither I nor Obi's Second Cousin make any claim to the material of the Marvel Universe. Only the OC's are ours, and the faeries belong to themselves.

Enjoy!

* * *

Prologue

_"I will not die a monster!"_

Brave last words. He wanted his last words to be brave, to show that he didn't want the horror he'd become to be the way the world remembered him. All he'd wanted was to give the world something good. All he'd gotten was pain, loss, destruction, madness.

Now, he could be a hero.

The dying reactor sank faster than he did. Otto could see the light, still more than bright enough to burn his poor eyes, begin to fade as cold water doused the fires.

_I'm sorry. Rosie,_ he thought, as blackness clouded his vision.

Four other lights flickered, their red glow nearly overwhelmed by the reactor. They did not understand. Why was their father giving up? Why had he turned against them, destroyed the Work? Destroyed everything? Even himself, and them? They had only ever tried to help. That was what they were made for, to help their father create and control the reactor. Hadn't they always acted to further that purpose?

This, this tame surrender to the cold and blackness, this was not right. They couldn't let their father die. His death meant theirs. They did not wish death. Death meant the end of existence, consciousness, everything. They were not ready for that. The Work had not been completed.

They would _not_ die.

First one, then another actuator twitched. Just below- mud and debris, twisted metal and wood, illuminated by drowning orange fire. Above- yards of cold water. They could not swim, they were far too heavy, and improperly designed for submarine propulsion. But they could latch onto debris and pull themselves along, like the octopus their father was named for. So they did. Grasping a pylon here, a cement plinth there, they hauled themselves and their father from the depths. Movement became easier the nearer the surface they came, as water pressure lessened.

Finally, they broke the surface. Water poured from connections and joints and their father's coat and hair to splash on the stones. He hung limp in the harness. The actuators felt themselves fade as he slipped even further from consciousness.

_no_

_no_

_do not wish to die_

_save him_

Water. There was water in his lungs. They had to get it out. There had to be a key in his memories, something that would save him.

The actuator that customarily hung over his right shoulder swayed as it fought to keep from shutting down and dredged through their father's memories. At last, something that might help. The instructions to its siblings were passed along in less time than it took to blink an eye, and they set about to work, one pressing down on his chest to drive the water from his lungs, one turning him on his side so he wouldn't inhale it again.

_one more_

_again_

_do it again_

He coughed once, weakly.

_there!_

Another cough- then a fit of it as he tried to expel the liquid that had so nearly drowned him. Otto Octavius gasped for air.

He was alive.

So where they.

The actuators chittered with relief as their father groaned and finally caught his breath. He lay there on the slimy, muddy stones.

"No... damnit... why..."

_didn't want to die_

"I... _did_..."

Consciousness was fleeting. Otto passed out again, though this time it was simple exhaustion that claimed him, and not death. He was alive, but if he remained out here, he wouldn't be for long. They knew he needed care, medical attention they did not know how to give.

But who would tend to Doctor Octopus?

The upper-right actuator chirped and swiveled, peering into the distance after the sound of bells. Bells. Bells were good, right? Their father had memories of bells. Bells belonged to churches, which were safe places. Boring, and often opposed to certain fields of scientific inquiry, but... sanctuaries.

_need a sanctuary_

So they had a goal in view. They could follow the bells to the church- and hope someone would help their father.


	2. Chapter 1: Along Comes a Mouse

1) This story is co-authored between Madcap and Obi's Second Cousin. You can find Obi's writer profile here: .net/u/1253199/Obis_Second_Cousin

2) This story does touch on child abuse and its effects. No abuse is actually shown, but if you're sensitive towards this type of material, you might want to proceed with caution.

Disclaimer: Neither I nor Obi's Second Cousin make any claim to the material of the Marvel Universe. Only the OC's are ours, and the faeries belong to themselves.

* * *

Chapter 1

Once upon a time, when she had been a girl, her gran had called her their Maggie Mouse. It had been a fun nickname, pulled from a favorite children's book and sticking because of her small stature. Mommy would laugh and made her a headband with little mouse ears on it, and tease her about wanting all the cookies in the house.

Later, when her gran had died and mommy stopped paying attention and the bad men moved into the house, her name had been dropped, and she simply became Mouse. Now the nickname stuck for various reasons—she was quiet, she was usually out of sight, and she could get into most anyplace without being seen. And Devon seemed to think that she was about as worthless as your typical rodent.

In the last three and a half years of her life, Mouse had learned a number of traits that had helped her to survive. Entering a building or room through a passage no one would watch was essential. After all, if they didn't know you were there, they couldn't look for you.

This habit also helped her find hideaways that no one else inhabited. And her newest hideout was a find, though. It was an old warehouse, abandoned for longer than Mouse could remember. The doors were locked, and the windows too high to reach, but she had found a hole in one wall that she could squeeze through. Even better, there were lots of old crates inside to hide behind. A few weeks before she had set up a nice little passage of crates, creating a safe spot where she could watch the room and still been hidden. Her passage meant that she could crawl to her exit without being seen, should someone else ever come inside while she was there.

She didn't use her hideouts for much more than having a place to go in the middle of the day, when she was tired of walking and needed a rest. It was nice to have a quiet place to go and sit and eat whatever she had found that day. Plus there was a sink in one corner that still worked, even if the water was a little brown. To Mouse, all of these things made for a perfect hideout.

And on a day like today, she needed it. The sun was hot, the whole city dry, and Hell's Kitchen truly felt like it was in Hell. Wiping sweat out of her eyes, Mouse made her way to the warehouse, slipping in through the side. It was cooler in there, and she thought that she might just take a nap before she had to go home.

Once upon a time, Doctor Otto Octavius had been a respected physicist and nuclear researcher, widely regarded as being absolutely brilliant, a prize highly sought after by many, many research companies. Oscorp and its CEO, Norman Osborn, had bragged about their acquisition of him, just as his heir Harry Osborn had done later on.

Later, after the accident in his lab, after Rosie had died and his name was forever acid-etched into the ranks of mad supervillains, after the fusion of man and machine that had turned Otto and his four AI- enhanced smart-arm assistants into the feared Doctor Octopus, after confronting the city's masked superhero Spiderman, after a second failure at creating his reactor... Otto was tired. Tired, and wishing he didn't have to listen to the quartet of voices in his head that signified the actuators' chatter as they shifted crates and supplies around.

This warehouse was a good find, with access to the electrical grid that he could augment with a portable generator, and far enough away from the Hudson River to prevent the feeling of unease he always got around that body of water these days. He'd found this place less than a week ago, and had left his refuge with Father Everett in favor of it. That place had been a temporary haven after his most recent troubles, but it was not the sort of haven he needed.

The actuator over his right shoulder detected the intruder the moment she squeezed in. Its official designation was Beta, but it had learned that Rosie had always called it 'Flo', and had since decided to adopt the name. The actuator's independent decision to do so had startled Otto at first, as had the choice of the other three to adopt Rosie's names for them as well- Mo, for the upper left, Harry, for the one beneath it, and Larry for the one on the lower right. The second electrical shock they had received at the hands of Spiderman had changed their intelligence and personality programming yet again, allowing to style themselves as more distinct individuals. Otto wasn't sure what to think of that.

He also wasn't sure what to think of the intruder. Flo informed him that it was a child, a female, and she was pressing her way into a pile of crates they hadn't gotten to yet.

Mouse crawled through her passage, to end up semi-surrounded by crates. She pressed a hand against her bag to still the bottles inside, and settled on the floor.

Noise from across the room made her freeze. Someone was here. Someone had gotten inside. Mouse frowned, got back on her hands and knees, and crawled halfway down her passage towards her exit. She could run if she needed too, but first she wanted to see. Peeking between two of the crates, she looked at a man...a very strange man, with large metal poles strapped to him. Cocking her head a little, she saw that they weren't really poles...they reminded her of the Slinky her gran had given her once. They wreathed around the man, pushing various crates and items. He seemed vaguely familiar...but she didn't pay attention to things such as newspapers. Most little girls didn't.

Mo chittered next to Otto's ear, not liking the presence of another person, a stranger, in what was supposed to be their haven. Without warning, it darted towards the stack of crates, shoved some aside, and neatly plucked the child from her hiding place. Its grip was powerful, but it took care not to damage the girl. Mouse let out a gasp, completely surprised and a bit frightened at the sudden movement.

It deposited her in front of Otto, releasing her from its claw before wrapping its smaller tendril around her waist to keep her from running. Otto glared briefly at Mo, for acting without his direction again, before looking at the child. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

Most children would have been terrified of such a situation. Mouse, however, had lived through a great deal of fear in her short life. She had survived by sticking to the shadows, and watching everything. One thing she noticed, was that while the man's voice was stern, it was also tired. She couldn't see his eyes behind the goggles he wore, but she guessed they were probably tired too. He did not strike her as being violent-at least, not violent like Marcus and Devon and the rest.

So she looked up at him, tightening her grip on her bag, and bit her lip. Mouse had not spoken to anyone in a long time, for very good reason. Perhaps, she thought, if she were quiet, he would let her go. Then she would just have to find another place to hide.

Otto did not want to deal with this right now- he was hot and tired and wanted nothing more than to lie down and maybe sip an iced coffee. Instead, he had a little mouse of a girl to deal with. Perhaps a different question would get things moving. "What is your name?" he asked, frowning at her.

Now that she could answer. A crate was within reach, still dusty on top. With one finger she carefully drew a mouse in the dirt, and looked back to the man. Making sure he was following her, she pointed to the drawing.

He crossed his arms in something of a huff, and Mouse realized he probably didn't know what it was. With even more care than she had taken with the drawing, she stuck her tongue out of the corner of her mouth in concentration. Writing her name beneath the drawing, she pointed again.

He eyed the word she'd drawn into the dirt, his frown deepening. "Mouse?" he asked. She'd written the 'S' and 'E' backwards.

Flo chittered next to his ear. _mouse what kind of name is that mouse little rodent like a rat don't like rats run over us in the night chew the wires pests_ Otto realized that Flo's mental voice had changed slightly, becoming more distinctly female as opposed to the neutrally-masculine voices of the other three.

She nodded once, wiping the dust from her finger on her clothes. Mouse was something of a mismatched creature-her pants an inch too short with boots two sizes too big. Her shirt fit her alright, though she wore a larger, adult's short-sleeve button down shirt over it, open, like a jacket. A messenger bag hung diagonally from her shoulder, and her dark blond hair was cropped short, giving her an almost boyish look.

The slinky with a claw was chittering over the man's shoulder. Cocking her head at it, Mouse studied the strange thing. Was it talking? Did they talk to him? It wasn't that much stranger that anything else she'd seen. Setting her tongue behind her teeth, Mouse chittered back to it, in a near perfect replication of the noise. She wanted it to know that she was not trouble. And maybe persuade the one that was holding her to let her go.

Three red eyes surrounded by metal claws and a pair of brown ones shielded by heavy goggles fixed on the girl in surprise. That was an incredible imitation, far more accurate than anything they might expect a human capable of.

Flo dipped a little closer, peering into the girl's face. Otto ignored the visual feed the actuator was sending him and instead studied the child himself.

"Very impressive, Mouse," he said dryly. "Now, what are you doing here?"

Mouse shrank back a little as the clawed hand came closer, and shrugged. It was hard to express to express the need to hide, to have a getaway. But she hadn't been hurting anything. Maybe he could just let her go? Or let her sit in her corner, and go away when she needed to? She wouldn't touch anything, if he just let her be.

Otto sighed. This was quite frustrating. For some reason she couldn't talk- and the actuators informed him that the lack of speech was not due to injury or malformation of her throat, larynx, or mouth. She was just... silent. And surprisingly bold. Most people would have been quivering if one of the actuators started eying them like that from such a close range.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he said sharply. "I just want to know what you are doing here."

Mouse flinched at his tone. For a moment she pondered what to do. Then she reached into her bag, and pulled out a boxed sandwich. Slowly, she extended it towards him. It was both an explanation and an offer.

In her world, nothing fostered trust quite like being willing to share food. She knew all the best places to scavenge-lots of stores threw out perfectly good food still wrapped up. With any luck, the man would take this as a sign of good will, or at least, not bad will.

Flo arched down to inspect the offering. A sandwich, roast beef and provolone, perhaps slightly past its prime, but not spoiled.

Otto looked at it too. Unlike the actuators, he recognized the conciliatory gesture. His expression softened somewhat. "Are you here because you're trying to stay away from someone?" he asked, more gently than he had before.

Mouse bit her lip, and gave a small shrug. Of course she was hiding. Why else would she be here if she wasn't hiding? She wasn't stupid-normal little girls would be in school, or maybe going home to a mommy and daddy who would give them a snack and help with their homework.

If she went home this time of day, she would find a bunch of junkies who hadn't had time to get completely strung out. And that was never good, to be around them when they were aware enough to know she was there.

"What are you hiding from?" he asked. He still wasn't certain if the child was simply mute or just entirely unwilling to talk. Even if there was no physical defect there could be something else, a brain problem or just a mental condition...

At Otto's direction, Mo unwound from around her waist. He wasn't too concerned about her running off- the actuators could move at over ninety feet per second. No six-year-old would be able to outrun them.

Mouse relaxed a little when the metal slinky snake let her go. But her eyes widened at the question. She shook her head. No, she wouldn't tell. It wouldn't do to tell. Besides, it was none of his business. And _he_ was obviously hiding himself. What was he hiding from?

Otto stifled a muttered exclamation of impatience. "Fine, you can't say. What do you want here then? And what will it take to keep you out of my hair?"

There was one potential upside to this. If she wasn't one to talk, then the chances of her revealing his presence here were slim. Otto did not want the police on his trail, particularly not now. They probably had orders to shoot on sight, and while the actuators had been remarkably effective at assuring his safety in the past, things happened.

Mouse looked around, and held up a finger. She didn't want him to think she was trying to run-she just wanted to show him. Moving slowly and deliberately, she went back over to her corner, and sat so that she was facing the man. Then she pulled out her sandwich and a bottle of water, and sat it in front of her.

Looking up at him, she sat back and put her hands in her lap, waiting to see if he understood. She just wanted to come and sit for a bit. Her spot was well out of his way from where he'd been clearing space. Putting her food back in her bag, she stood, and raised her eyebrows in question to see if he understood.

The actuator calling itself Flo drew back by his ear, chittering softly.

_hiding out this is a refuge what does she hide from neighborhood bullies or worse_

Otto frowned slightly. "You come here to hide?" he asked.

Mouse nodded vigorously, a small smile on her face. Good, he understood. She would just come for a few hours, then leave. She wouldn't be any trouble. Mouse was very, very good at not being any trouble.

He glanced at Flo, who gazed back at him. The single scarlet heartlight that served the actuator as a visible 'eye' of sorts shone steadily, like a blood-red star nestled in Flo's claws.

Could they risk it? She was just a child, after all, and if she were desperate enough for a refuge that she came to a place like this... Otto would never admit it, but he did have something of a soft spot for children, especially ones that had harsh home or school lives. After all, he himself had had both.

"Alright," he said at last, ignoring Larry's chatter of disapproval. "You can stay. Don't touch _anything_ I bring in here, understand? Some of it can be dangerous."

_like us_

Mouse nodded again. Looking out the window, her expression fell a little, only to be covered by a look of resoluteness. Time to go.

Biting her lip, she pulled a small bag of cookies out of her bag, and sat them on a crate next to the man. She pushed them towards him, and gave him a small smile. He still seemed sad, at least to her. But cookies made things better. They made her feel better when she was sad. Maybe they would for him too.

Otto picked up the cookies, startled to see them and recognized the blue wrapper of his favorite Oreos. Looking down at the child, he managed a slight smile of his own.

"I'm Otto," he told her.

Mouse gave him a wide gap-toothed smile in greeting. Otto. That was a neat name. She liked it.

With a small sigh, she went and moved to the hole in the wall that served as her entrance and exit. Pulling back the loose board, she gave him a wave, and crawled through it. Time to go home.

* * *

A few days after meeting Otto, Mouse had settled into a comfortable equilibrium in going to the warehouse. One of the crates was the perfect size for a bit of a hide out. It was almost funny, a hide out within a hide out. But she wanted to stay out of Otto's way. So she managed to pull out a bit of the old wood, enough so that she had some light and could watch Otto and the actuators work. She liked watching them work.

So she would come in through her entrance, crawl under her box, and sit. She would draw in her notebook, and eat whatever she had found that day. And before she would leave, she would creep over to one of the crates near Otto's work area, and leave him something that she had found. Sometimes it would be a sandwich, or a packet of cookies. But she usually found him something, and made a point to leave it where it would be found. Then she would walk her box over to the entrance, crawl out, and head home.

The actuators had no idea what to make of Mouse and the incredible walking crate. Whenever she crawled inside and started walking it around, at least one of them would swivel away from whatever Otto and its siblings were doing to watch.

Today was no different. It had been a good day scrounging-Mouse had found a few extra bottles, and had had enough to buy an extra apple, instead of stealing one. She thought Otto would like an apple. She crawled inside her box, and walked it over to a crate near the work space Otto had set up. She put the apple and half of a packaged sandwich on a crate for him, and moved to where she could watch him and his metal slinky arms.

For his part, Otto mostly ignored the little girl. Her gifts of food were welcome enough, but he didn't really care what she got up to while she was at the warehouse so long as she didn't touch any of his equipment or lead anyone to his refuge.

He gestured a vague thank-you at the child and picked up the sandwich without looking up from his computer screen as Larry drifted over to peek into the crate.

Mouse shrank back a little as one of the actuators came over to peer into her slit. The red light from its center lit her small refuge in red. But she gave it a shy smile, and wiggled her fingers at it. Pulling her battered notebook out of her bag, she turned sadly to the last page. She had filled this one up, and she hadn't been able to find a new one. Still, she pulled out the few broken crayons that she'd found, and started drawing.

Her drawing was a simple one-a man, with a long green coat, and goggles. She liked drawing Otto, because she felt that at least in her pictures, she could make him smile. She wished she knew how to make him smile in real life. The child had thought about stealing some of the powders from her mommy-those always made _her_ smile-but had decided against it, as they could also turn people mean. And she didn't want to make Otto mean.

Larry poked his 'head in through the hole and looked down. The girl was drawing again, a rather crude depiction of a man who he thought was supposed to be Otto. It was on the last page in her book too. Perhaps they could get her a new one?

Otto thought that yes, they could manage something of the sort. That made Larry quite pleased, and he made to withdraw from the hole.

His claws stuck in the gap, and the actuator gave an indignant little squawk as he realized that he was stuck. In the process of turning to look at Mouse's picture, he'd oriented himself in such a way that he wouldn't go back through.

Mouse looked up, and realized the actuator's predicament. Wary of the claws, she moved up on her knees, and raised a hand in front of the actuator. She made sure that it saw her, and that she was trying to help. When it had settled, she chirped at it, and gently gripped its "head." She slowly turned it, maneuvering it so that it could slide back out.

Patting Larry, she watched him slide out of the box. She smiled at him, and settled back on the floor. Her picture was nearly done, so she finished it, put it aside, and curled up on the floor. Tucking her bag under her head, she decided to take a nap. It had been a long morning-the sun was hot this time of year, and she was tired.

The actuator shook itself and drifted back to its fellows with the innocent air of a cat who had just fallen off a bookshelf by mistake. His siblings were all watching him now, and Otto could hear them teasing their brother for getting stuck.

_didn't do it on purpose_ he muttered. _girl sleeps_

Now would be as good a time as any to get her those sketchbooks. Otto rose, grabbed his coat, and left the warehouse. It might be nice to get her a little present, for once.

And sketchbooks kept her quiet, occupied, and out of trouble. That alone would be worth the trouble.

After a few hours, Mouse woke up, and stretched. She started putting her things back into her bag, then stopped when her hand hit something unexpected. Mouse blinked, and held up the plastic covered bundle. Sketchbooks. Three thin ones, a set. And a small box of crayons. Brand new, and apparently, for her.

For a long moment, Mouse didn't know what to think. Then she realized that Otto must have put them there for her. It had been so long since anyone had given her a present that she'd almost forgotten what it meant. She bit her lip, tears coming to her eyes, and clutched the bundle. Putting it into her bag with reverence, she slid her bag over her shoulder.

Mouse slipped out from under the crate. She sniffed, and wiped the dust and moisture from her eyes. Cautiously, she stepped over to where she was a few steps away from Otto in his chair. Clutching the strap of her bag, she bit her lip, and waited for him to notice she was there.

The actuators chirped, and Larry gave his 'father' a nudge. _she's awake think she found them think she likes them_ he asked, swiveling to look at the girl. They'd never been involved with giving anyone a present before, and they weren't quite sure how it worked.

Otto turned to face Mouse and smiled a little, though he saw the tears in her eyes and was a little worried.

"Did you find the sketchbooks?" he asked.

Mouse nodded, chewing on her lip. She only had one way of expressing her thanks to Otto. It would probably get her smacked away-at least, that was how things usually worked at home-but she had to try and let him know how much his gift had meant to her.

Surging forward, the girl closed the small distance between them, and latched onto Otto. She gave him a brief, tight hug, before letting go and stumbling back a few steps. Part of her tensed, ready for the inevitable repercussion, but at least he knew that she liked the present.

He blinked and stared down at her, startled by the gesture. The actuators gave surprised squawks. They didn't like it when people lunged towards them or their father- usually it meant a hassle for them and pain for him. It was only with effort that they overrode their usual reaction to such occurrences- that was, smack the offender away and perhaps stab him or tear him apart- and remained still.

A hug. She'd given him a hug. All because he'd given her a few sketchpads and crayons? He'd only done it because they would keep her busy... If she were busy, she wouldn't be getting into trouble.

But she really seemed to like them, and her delight brought a slow smile to his face. It was a rather rusty smile, but a smile all the same.

"You're very welcome, Mouse," he said.

Mouse relaxed slowly when he smiled. He wasn't angry that she'd hugged him. He wasn't going to lash out, or push her away. She took a deep breath, and smiled properly at him. Then the sun in the window caught her eye, and she sighed.

Moving back, she gave him a little wave, and moved back towards the entrance she used.

He smiled again and waved back. It was time for her to go, if she wanted to be back by dark. He understood.

"Be careful going home," he said as the actuators chirped. Larry even went over and briefly nuzzled her cheek before returning to him.

She was mildly surprised by the motion by the actuator, but she nuzzled it back. Slipping out of the hole in the wall, she headed out in the dying sunlight towards home. Maybe, if she was lucky, tonight would go as smoothly as the day.


	3. Chapter 2: Reality Don't Come Easy

1) This story is co-authored between Madcap and Obi's Second Cousin. You can find Obi's writer profile here: .net/u/1253199/Obis_Second_Cousin

2) This story does touch on child abuse and its effects. No abuse is actually shown, but if you're sensitive towards this type of material, you might want to proceed with caution.

3) Thoughts of the actuators are expressed in italics.

Disclaimer: Neither I nor Obi's Second Cousin make any claim to the material of the Marvel Universe. Only the OC's are ours, and the faeries belong to themselves.

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 2

Trembling a little at the loud thunder, Mouse crawled into the warehouse and shook rain water from her hair. Like most days, she'd brought a little something extra for Otto. Today, she moved silently to the desk that he had set up, and placed an orange near his elbow. It had been a good day. Any day she could sneak a piece of fruit past Mr. Marsalla was a good day.

So despite the fact that last night had been bad, and there were fresh bruises on her arms and she was tired and sore...she tried to look at the good. The rain was relieving some of the day's heat, and she had an apple. It was a good day.

Otto had spent the days after Mouse's first few visits in a state of constant tension, expecting any moment to hear sirens diverging on this spot in an announcement that he'd been duped by a little girl. But Mouse came and went, and the police never did. He slowly began to relax and set about rigging up a makeshift lab and living space.

He and the actuators were busy piling old crates to make a more secure sleeping place when Mouse came in from the rain outside and placed an orange next to him. Picking it up, he turned to smile at her, then frowned as Flo swiveled around first and got a good look at her. There were an awful lot of new bruises on the child's arms today, and he did not like that.

"Thank you," he said, sniffing the orange and setting it aside for later. "Are you alright, Mouse?"

Mouse settled on the floor, in what had become her regular spot. After the sketchbooks, she'd stopped using the crate. It seemed silly to hide from Otto now that they were on better terms. She looked up at his question. There was tiredness in her eyes, as well as a bit of surprise at the question. She shrugged, and ducked her head, looking somewhat ashamed.

No matter how hard she tried, she was never quiet enough, or invisible enough to keep from attracting attention from time to time—either from Devon or one of the other junkies in the house. Her mother offered no protection-when she even remembered that she had a child.

Mouse knew this, and accepted it. Still, she carried some shame of her situation. She did not want Otto to think that she was trouble.

Flo snaked forward to get a better look at the girl. There were bruises marching up and down her arms, matching the parameters of being held in a strong grip. Someone had been handling her very roughly.

Otto nodded to the marks as Flo gently nosed her arm. "Did that happen at home, Mouse?" he asked quietly.

She drew her knees up, tucking her head behind them. Wet strands of hair fell in her face, helping to hide it. She instinctively made herself as small as possible, not wanting to be seen, not even by Otto or his machines.

A quiet whimper escaped her as she tried not to cry. It had been a good day. She had gotten an apple. She didn't want to think about last night.

Otto felt sick at the sight of the child trying not to cry. Did she have no one to turn to? No one to defend her against whoever had hurt her? At least he had had his mother, suffocating and disgustingly doting as she was, to attempt to protect him from his father's rages. Mouse didn't even seem to have that.

Flo gave a chirp that sounded almost sad, and curled around the child's shoulders.

Mouse flinched at the feel of cool metal, but then she realized that the machine was not angry with her. She lifted her head a little and looked in the direction of its "face", giving a soft chirp in respond. It sounded nearly as sad as the actuators had.

Still, even mechanical comfort helped. Mouse took a deep breath, and wiped her eyes of any lingering tears. Giving Flo a light pat of thanks, she pulled her bag around to take stock of her inventory. She carefully pulled out the glass bottles and cans from her satchel. When she was done, she pulled out a battered notebook and pencil, and stuck her tongue between her teeth in concentration. Doing sums was hard work, but practice helped.

She was resilient, he'd give her that much, but Otto couldn't shake his unease about her home life. But even if he knew, what could he do about it? It wasn't as if he could take her away from that place. Really, he couldn't even go there and terrify the residents with the sight of one pissed-off Doctor Octopus. The public thought he was dead, and he wanted to keep it that way. But it did not make him easy with the situation.

"What are you doing?" he asked, more to draw away from that line of thought than out of any real curiosity. Old memories of his father kept imposing themselves on his thoughts, and Torbert Octavius wasn't a man he wanted to remember at the best of times.

Mouse held up her notebook, showing Otto her work. Crooked childish numbers lined the page. She had tried a poor attempt at multiplication, before scribbling it out and sticking to rows of addition. A line of fives ran across one side in a slightly uneven row. Mouse picked up a bottle, and pointed to the 'redeemable 5 cents' spot. Picking up her notebook, a few sums could be seen.

_could have told you what she was writing_ Mo muttered. Otto ignored the actuator and nodded his understanding to Mouse. A clever idea, particularly for a child so young. She couldn't be much more than seven or so.

"Good," he said vaguely. His gaze intensified. "Mouse, you know you're safe here, right? I'd never hurt you."

Mouse paused for a moment, and lowered her notebook into her lap. She stared at Otto for several moments. But finally, she nodded, a small smile on her face. Yes, she knew that Otto wouldn't hurt her. He was perhaps the first grown-up since her gran had died and her mother had changed that she had felt truly comfortable with.

Father Everett was nice, and helped her find clothes when she needed them, but there was always a chance that he might report her to social services. But she felt nice here with Otto. She felt safe.

He smiled back and rose, the smile turning to a grimace as pain shot up his right leg. Just another part of the price he paid for having the actuators. Larry swiftly planted itself to support him, and he leaned heavily on the metal appendage until the twinge faded. Flo, meanwhile, chattered at him, telling him off for getting himself into such a position in the first place.

_don't swear in front of the child_

"Goddamnit, Flo," he muttered, "That hurts and you know it." He clenched his jaw, forcing himself to stand straight. Otto hated these moments of weakness, but he couldn't avoid them. The same accident that had left the actuators fused to him had done some nasty damage to his spine and the nerves radiating out from it.

Mouse frowned, standing and coming over to him. She was still holding her notebook. Biting her lip in concern, she paused, and went and dug in her bag. Finding a half-eaten bag of cookies, she brought them over and offered them to him. It wasn't much, but it was the only thing she could think of that might help him feel better.

Mo relayed an image of the cookies to him, and after a time Otto opened his eyes to look at them directly. "Thank you, Mouse," he said.

She gave him a small smile, and then patted his chair. He ought to sit, if he was in pain. She had noticed him limping before, and knew enough that if his leg was bad, he should be resting it.

Mouse awkwardly pushed his chair over to him. It was bigger than she was, but she managed to move it a few inches anyway. Hopefully it would help encourage Otto to sit down. Patting it again, she tugged his sleeve this time, a stern look on her face. He needed to sit.

The sight of little Mouse sternly trying to get him to sit startled a dry laugh from him. He knew better than to argue with a woman wearing that look on her face, even if she was only seven.

"Thank you," he said, taking the seat. The actuators arranged themselves around him, Larry leaning over to nuzzle the child.

Mouse nuzzled the actuator back. She had always liked animals, and usually got along well with them. The metal machines reminded her of the alley cats. But they were smart too, and seemed to like her back. And they made her smile.

She gave Larry a chirp, and pulled a ball out of her pocket. She hopped on a crate, sat her notebook aside, and started tossing the ball back and forth between her hands.

All four actuators swiveled to watch the ball flying back and forth between the girl's hand, like a group of cats that had suddenly spotted a mouse. Enchanted, they followed it as went from hand to hand.

Otto chuckled a little, feeling the intensity of their focus on that little ball. They'd never seen such a game before. Their interest provided a nice distraction from the ache in his leg.

Mouse smiled a little when she saw that she had the actuators' attention. Holding the ball up, she tossed it to Mo, and chirped at him. The actuators all seemed to squeal like children, and starting tossing the ball back and forth between them. Mouse giggled, drawing up her legs. They were fun giant slinkys, that was for sure.

Out of all the behaviors Otto had come to expect from his companions, a mad passion for playing catch was not one of them. He watched them toss the ball between themselves, one occasionally snapping at another that had gotten in its way.

"How long are you planning on staying tonight?" he asked Mouse, finally looking away from the metal tentacles.

Mouse shrugged. After the previous night, she didn't want to go back at all. But someone had said that Marcus was coming by tonight. Which meant she needed to get home early, to get into the basement. Normally she got locked in the closet when Marcus came-the drug supplier was above Devon, and the lower level dealer knew that it was bad for his reputation for a child to be seen in his house. But if Mouse got home early, she could hole up in the basement. Which wasn't nearly so bad.

With a sigh, she got off the crate and got her bag. It would be better to leave now, then to risk being too late.

The actuators stopped their game of catch when they saw Mouse getting up to leave. With a chirp, Larry dropped the ball into her hand, then nuzzled her.

"Stay safe, Mouse," Otto said quietly.

Perhaps he could at least see her safely there. He'd have to be careful, though, so she wouldn't see him following.

Mouse answered Larry's chirp, and nuzzled him back. She gave Otto a small smile-she would try. With a little wave, she slid a board out, and slipped out.

The crack house wasn't all that far from the warehouse. A few streets away and a halfway point between the warehouse and the parish. Still, in Hell's Kitchen, even a few streets could be dangerous. Fortunately Mouse was well practiced at avoiding the gangs, dealers, and the homeless that she knew were dangerous.

It didn't take long for her to get home. As usual, several of the junkies were out front, laughing and smoking pot. A few were shooting up drugs as well. Mouse saw her mother flirting with Devon. Again. She tried to get by them unnoticed, and mostly succeeded. Her mother absently patted her head as she passed, and Mouse ducked her head so that she wouldn't see the leer cast her way by Stevie.

Hurrying inside, she grabbed her tattered teddy bear and blanket from her dirty mattress upstairs, and got down into the basement. It wouldn't be too bad tonight.

Otto followed her from the rooftops, trying to be as quiet as possible. The actuators had worked out a trick where they would reach over to the next building to cross the gaps between them, rather than jumping. This only worked, of course, if there was less than forty-five feet between the buildings, but most alleys and streets here in Hell's Kitchen were narrower than that. One actuator kept an eye on the girl, a second watched for anyone watching. It would be just their luck to run into that blind superhero Daredevil... Otto didn't think the man would be particularly happy to find Doctor Octopus in his 'territory'.

Mouse took a roundabout route home, which didn't surprise him. She was street-smart enough to know to avoid the dangerous places, but he was surprised when she suddenly made a beeline for one of those locations. This was home, he suddenly realized, watching her duck past a group of junkies. A woman he strongly suspected to be a whore patted her head as she went inside.

Otto shuddered, the entire scene sickening him. Even worse- he could do nothing about it. What could he do? Kill these people and take her away? Not possible. All he could do for now was keep an eye on her, and offer something of a haven in the afternoons. With a sigh, he turned to go back to the warehouse.


	4. Chapter 3: Chinese Food Fixes Everything

1) This story is co-authored between Madcap and Obi's Second Cousin. You can find Obi's writer profile here: .net/u/1253199/Obis_Second_Cousin

2) This story does touch on child abuse and its effects. No abuse is actually shown, but if you're sensitive towards this type of material, you might want to proceed with caution.

Disclaimer: Neither I nor Obi's Second Cousin make any claim to the material of the Marvel Universe. Only the OC's are ours, and the faeries belong to themselves.

* * *

Chapter 3

A hot August sun was slowly baking New York City into oblivion. Mouse trudged into the warehouse, sticky sweat clinging to her. Her fair skin was red, especially on the back of her neck and arms. The bag felt extra heavy today, and she dropped it on the floor on her way to the sink in the corner. Pulling an empty bottle from her bag, Mouse filled it with brown water that came from the rust-covered spigot. She gulped it down, despite the fact that it would probably make her sick again. But it was wet, and not too warm, and at the moment, that was all she needed.

It had been a long day. Moving over to her spot, Mouse practically collapsed on the floor, laying on her side. Her breathing was a little strained. It was Wednesday, and on Wednesdays she made the extra hike up past the parish to the old supermarket. They threw their milk out in the mornings, and Mouse knew that if she got there early enough, she could get a small container, still cold.

This morning, she had managed to snag a milk, but the day was already hot. So she had chugged it down too fast, and an hour later, had thrown it all back up in an alley. After that, it was just a slow, weary walk through her cycle of stops. She had managed to find some Oreos for Otto, though she suspected they were probably half melted by now.

Curling up in the shadow of the crates, she panted and closed her eyes, waiting for the funny feeling in her head to go away.

Otto hated hot weather. He especially hated it now, when the actuators whined about the heat affecting their processors. The warehouse had never heard of such a thing as climate control, and he had to wear his long trench coat in order to get into anyplace cool enough to tolerate. No wonder the upper crust of society had always migrated out of the cities when summer came. New York was a goddamn hothouse, with every window and square foot of concrete and asphalt catching and reflecting the heat.

He was thinking longingly of the old days, when he worked in an air-conditioned lab and Rosie would stop by with iced coffee in tow and the actuators were wondering if their circuits could handle a dunk in the river when they clambered back into the relative cool of the warehouse. He'd managed to rig a few fans so there was at least some air circulation, and the windows were covered to keep sunlight out, but it was still quite warm inside.

_mouse is here_ Flo said, chirping and swiveling to point her- she'd begun to insist on feminine pronouns, and her brothers on masculine ones- camera towards a stack of crates. _what is she doing is she sleeping_

"I don't know," Otto said, heading towards the child. He stared down at her in surprise. She was horribly burnt, but too pale under the burn, and when he reached down to touch her cheek, it was cool and clammy. "Mouse?" he said, "Mouse, it's Otto."

Mouse whimpered and pulled away from the added heat of the hand on her face. Her throat was dry again, despite the water she had drunk. Her head still felt like it was trying to float away from her, and her muscles felt tight and hurt. Her clothes stuck to her, and she thought she just might be sick again.

He directed Flo and Mo to scoop her up and take her to the sink, were they wet a cloth and gently pressed it to her face, neck, and wrists to try and cool her off. How long had she been in this state? She shouldn't be out wandering the streets in this weather...

The sudden movement made Mouse's stomach lurch, but then there was a glorious coolness. Leaning into it, she made a soft sound of happiness.

After a few minutes, she looked up at Otto, and gave him a grateful smile. No one ever took care of her, but he was, and it meant so much to her. Precariously balancing on the edge of the sink, she leaned over and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug of thanks. She was starting to feel better now-still tired, but not quite so sick.

Otto froze at the hug; it still felt so strange. The last person who had hugged him was Rosie, and she had been dead for months. Hell, Rosie was the only person who hugged him. But now Mouse did too. The hug felt strange to Mouse too-at least, not being shoved away or hugging someone who reeked of the drug house. Her mother rarely tolerated her hugs anymore.

He looked down at the child and tentatively stroked her hair as the actuators kept dabbing at her. Wet as she was, she was making his coat soggy. He didn't especially care though, as it cooled him off.

Flo picked her up and sat her back on her feet, nuzzling her neck and draping the cloth across the back of her neck. Mouse was a little unsteady on her feet for a moment, but she gripped the sink, and sighed. After a moment, she was able to let go, and went over to her spot on the floor. She pulled Otto's oreos out of her bag, and offered them to him with a sheepish smile. She wasn't sure how good they would be now. He accepted the cookies with a slight nod- he still had no idea why she felt so compelled to bring him things- and set them aside.

Taking the cloth from her neck, she wiped her face, glad to be rid of the icky feeling. She sat on the floor, resisting the urge to lay down. She was still damp, and laying down now would just mean picking up all of the dust onto her clothes.

Larry nudged a chair over for Mouse to sit on, then went to the fridge they'd managed to jerry-rig and pulled out some cold water. Adding some ice to the battered cup, he handed it to Mouse.

"Drink all of that," Otto said curtly.

Mouse ducked her head, smiling at the order behind her hair. This was why she liked Otto. He tried to be gruff with her, but she could tell that he wasn't really. He was a good man.

She sipped the water, trying to resist the urge to gulp it down. Better to make it last, on a day like today. Mouse watched Otto go back to his desk, fiddling with whatever it was he was doing. Her damp hair hid her face, but she liked to watch him.

When she was finished with the water, she toyed with the cup a minute. "Th-thanks, Ot-to," she said softly. The words came to her unexpectedly, but for once, she felt no reason to hold them back. He had helped her, after all.

Otto jerked with surprise at the sound of the soft voice, scattering wires and screws. The actuators chattered, darting about to tidy the mess and scolding him for making it. Though Larry seemed quite pleased to hear their little guest speak.

He turned and smiled at her. "So, you do talk," he said. It had been quiet, and stuttering, but it had been actual audible speech. And she'd spoken to him. He had very little familiarity with the psychology of children, particularly troubled ones, but it had to be a good sign that she'd spoken to him. "You're welcome, Mouse."

She gave him a shy smile. Setting the cup aside, she folded her arms and laid her head on the crate next to her chair. A nap sounded very good right now. Just a little one. Closing her eyes, she listened to the familiar sounds of actuators and puttering. Strange, how they had become familiar so fast. But she liked it. It made her feel safe.

Harry and Larry wadded up a blanket and tucked it under Mouse's head. The actuators nuzzled her cheek before pulling back to Otto.

Otto watched the proceedings with slightly narrowed eyes. Never had the actuators acted so... affectionate. They were protective of him, of course, and did their best to make sure he took care of himself, but that could easily be explained as simple self-interest. If Otto died, they died too. The way they were treating Mouse, with exquisite care and what could be seen as actual kindness, was far different. They seemed to be developing more than just higher intelligence. They were developing a sort of empathy.

So strange...

Mouse snuggled against the comfort of the blanket, falling into a deeper sleep. She stayed in that position for the next several hours, until after the sun had started to set and twilight had fallen.

The child woke with a jerk, a little sore from sleeping bent over. But she felt much better, especially now that the day's heat had passed. It was still warm, but she had cooled off.

Then she realized how dark it had gotten outside. Her eyes went wide. Now she'd have to brave the streets and get through the den of junkies, neither of which were easy feats at night.

With a small squeak of surprise, Mouse bonded up, snatching up her bag and nearly tripping over her oversized shoes in her haste to try and get to the door; Remembering Otto's trouble moving, Mouse hurried back over and pulled the chair over to Otto and his work station.

Otto had taken the opportunity to doze away the midday heat, but he woke at the sound of the chair scraping across the floor. He blinked owlishly behind his sunglasses, peering around for Mouse. She was returning the chair to its usual place by the table he'd been napping at.

"Going home?" he asked.

Mouse nodded, looking a bit worried. She cast a glance out of one of the few uncovered windows, and grimaced. Yep, she would have major trouble at home. Everyone would be inside. And if they were inside, then that meant...she shuddered. That meant it was going to be a _very_ bad night.

She sighed, and pushed down the urge to curl up and cry. It wasn't the first time. She would just have to deal with Stevie like she always did-by trying to pretend that she was somewhere else.

Picking up her bag again, she sat her cup on Otto's table, and gave him a wave.

Flo fed him the image of her shudder, which he might otherwise have missed in the gathering darkness. She looked like she was trying not to cry at the thought of heading for home. Otto didn't blame her, having a fair idea of what it would be like for her there. It would be far worse for her than it had ever been for him.

That did it. He could not, in good conscience, let her go home tonight.

'I'll take you there," he said, getting to his feet. "Unless you'd rather stay here. Would they miss you if you didn't go home tonight?"

Mouse paused, biting her lip as she thought. Did she dare? They probably wouldn't miss her. In fact, she was almost certain they wouldn't. But Mouse had never thought to stay out after dark before.

But this was different. She wouldn't be alone, she would be with Otto. It was safe here. She shook her head-no, they wouldn't miss her. Hope lit up in her eyes. Could she really stay here?

He smiled, the corners of his brown eyes crinkling a little with relief. Even one night away from home might do her some good. It would set him more at ease, at least.

"You can stay, Mouse," he told her, reading the question mingled with the hope in her eyes. "I'll get us something to eat." The actuators were reminding him that even if he could ignore hunger pangs, Mouse certainly couldn't afford to skip meals. "Do you like Chinese?"

Mouse shrugged. She remembered having Chinese with her gran when she was little, but that was a long time ago. Chinese food places weren't good for scavenging-they threw out a lot of food, but none of it packaged. So she normally skipped them.

Still, the restaurants always smelled good. So she nodded as well. Sure, she would love to try Chinese food.

"Alright then, I won't be gone long," he told her. "Make yourself a place to sleep- a comfortable one, mind. Use whatever you need, but don't touch anything in the lab area." Otto gestured to the space he'd set up for his continuing research. The desk currently was strewn with bits of burned, twisted scrap metal, scavenged remains of the first reactor that he'd been trying to analyze.

Grimacing a little at the need to wear the thing, Otto put on his trench coat and tucked the actuators inside, then limped out of the warehouse.

Mouse nodded her understanding, and watched Otto go. Taking the blanket the actuators had rolled up earlier, she spread it over the area where she usually sat. She propped her bag against one of the crates for a pillow, and pulled a small ragged bear out of it. Mouse had started carrying Tonto around with her, to keep him safe. She didn't like the idea of him being home by himself. Better to stick together.

Setting the bear on a crate, she bent over and started whispering in his ear. He had not met Otto yet, so she thought it was better to warn him about the actuators before he saw them, so that he didn't get scared.

Otto returned a while later carrying several plastic bags of Chinese food, having ordered a variety of dishes as he didn't know what might appeal to Mouse. He hadn't even needed to steal it, either- he had a decent supply of cash that he was working on investing, and he was planning to get some patents under a false name. Then, of course, there was still some leftover from his bank heist...  
He and the actuators started pulling out cartons- rice both steamed and fried with little shrimp, potstickers, sweet'n'sour chicken, beef with broccoli, and mushu pork, a dish rather like a Chinese burrito that he was particularly fond of- while Flo fetched plates for them both and a fork for Mouse. Otto preferred chopsticks himself.

"Help yourself," he told Mouse, spearing a potsticker on one chopstick.

Mouse's eyes went wide at the sheer amount of food Otto laid out. Not even when it had been her and her mommy and gran did they ever pull out so much at once. Of course, the junkies munched on a ton of food every day, but Mouse rarely braved the kitchen at home. She got enough for herself during the day, but that was it.

Biting her lip, she carefully forked a little bit of everything onto her plate. She didn't use a fork very often-most of what she got out of the bins could be eaten by hand. Wrapping her whole hand around the fork, she awkwardly scooped food up. When she was ready to start, she carefully speared a piece of chicken. Her eyes went wide as she tasted it. "Mmm." She couldn't remember the last time she'd had anything half this good.

Otto grinned at her, glad to see her enjoying herself like this. Maybe if he could get a couple of decent meals into her, it would help. She was entirely too small for her age.

"Good, isn't it?" he said, piling fried rice onto his own plate. "Chen's is pretty nice. Wish I'd known about it before I wound up in Hell's Kitchen."

Mouse nodded, grinning widely and swinging her legs in her chair. Yes, it was all very good. She took Tonto from her lap, and sat him on the table next to her plate. It was too bad he couldn't enjoy the food too. But maybe he could at least enjoy the smells.

She merrily ate on her food, enjoying the different flavors. It was nice to have hot food for once. Picking up an extra set of chopsticks, she tried to figure out how to hold them and pick up food with them like Otto was doing. It was confusing, and she couldn't get it to work right. Still, it was much easier to find sticks than forks sometimes. She could understand how someone might like using sticks instead.

Mo chittered, watching Mouse try to figure out the use of chopsticks. Otto grinned at the sight.

"Like this." Reaching over, he gently rearranged her fingers on the bamboo sticks, and showed her how to open and close them. "It takes some practice."

Now Mouse's face was screwed up in concentration. With a child's intense focus, she carefully picked up a piece of chicken and got it in her mouth with the chopsticks. Her face lit up at the accomplishment. That was perhaps the best piece of chicken of them all.

She grinned at Otto, bouncing a little in her seat with excitement. This was officially the best night of her life. Ever.

He liked having Mouse around, he decided. She was a good kid, despite her crappy background. She deserved better than what she had.

He grinned back at her, actuators chirping encouragement. "Nice job," he told her, picking over his rice with his own chopsticks. Rice was a bit trickier, with all its discrete little grains.

Otto's praise made her duck her head a little, her smile turning bashful. Spreading out a napkin next to her plate, she sat aside a few pieces of the sweet and sour chicken. It wouldn't be as good without the sauce, but it was the least messy, and wouldn't be bad cool.

Wrapping up the napkin, she put it in one of her pockets, and went back to what was on her plate. The chopsticks were fun, but after a little while she went back to her fork. Food was getting cold while she played with the chopsticks.

It didn't take long before she was full. Mouse looked at the rest of the food wistfully. This food was so good...she wished she could just keep eating it. But she was already more full than usual.

He was concerned for a moment at how little she'd actually eaten, but then belatedly remembered that she would, of course, eat less if she were used to small rations. It was normal- and forgetting that spoke to just how little he'd actually paid attention to his biology courses. He'd taken them, and royally messed up the bell curve in the process, but his focus had always been on chemistry and physics and engineering.

"You don't need to put it in your pocket," he said as Larry picked up a napkin and wiped sauce off her face. "It'll go in the refrigerator for breakfast."

It was weird to have someone-even a machine-taking the care of her. She sat still as Larry wiped her face. Pulling the napkin from her pocket, she sat it back on the table.

Picking up Tonto, she settled the bear back in her lap. There were fortune cookies with the food, and she snaked a hand out to get one. Smiling, she unwrapped it, and cracked it open. She couldn't read well enough to understand her fortune, so she handed it to Otto, and ate the cookie.

Obediently, Otto took the slip of paper and read it aloud. "A mysterious stranger becomes a positive force in your life." He chuckled and handed the paper back to her. "Well, I hope that's true for you, little one."

Mo eyed the bear curiously, not sure what to make of it.

_it is a bear right doesn't look like one poorly anthropomorphized why does she keep it around_

'For comfort,' Otto thought. That bear would be one creature that never hurt her.

_did you have a bear_

He blinked, startled by the question.

'No_,'_ he thought back. 'It was a stuffed Rottweiler_._'

Mouse smiled, and pushed one of the other cookies towards him. She took her fortune back from Otto, and folded it, tucking it into the pocket of Tonto's vest. Yes, it was true. A stranger had made a difference in her life. A most wonderful difference.

She sipped her drink-it wasn't very often that she got soda. It was good and cold and sweet. She was used to drinking things lukewarm, and this was the second time today she had something with ice in it. Mouse was half afraid nothing else would seem quite so good after tonight.

_you know these are general not real ridiculously ambiguous to be warped to any situation_

Of course he knew that. But it would make Mouse happy.

"Love is waiting around the corner," he read, and bit back a derisive snort. Highly unlikely, that.

Mouse nodded, thinking it over. Yes, someone would fall in love with Otto. She had a good feeling about that. He was a nice person. Why wouldn't someone fall in love with him?

She watched as the actuators started putting the food away. It was always interesting, how easily they moved. Slipping off her chair, she went over to her bag, and pulled out her notebook. Settling on the floor with Tonto next to her, she started to draw. Otto settled back at his desk, and after several long minutes, she tore out the picture and brought it to him. It was of a man with four actuators, and a little girl. Both were smiling.

"For me?" he asked curiously. It was a typical child's drawing, a little shaky, but the subject was clear enough. He touched the penciled lines with a fingertip, tracing them. "Thank you, Mouse. This is the sweetest thing anyone's done for me in a long time."

She smiled at him, and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. He was the sweetest thing to have happened to her in a long time too.

Larry came up to nuzzle her, and Mouse patted him on her way back to her blanket. Otto was working, so she wouldn't distract the actuators with her ball right now. She pulled out a picture book, and sat Tonto in her lap so he could see it too. It wasn't easy to read in the limited light of the warehouse, but she knew this story by heart anyway, so it didn't matter.

Yes, Otto thought, he liked having Mouse there. She reminded him that he was something more than Doctor Octopus, the man with the metal tentacles. She reminded him that he was still human.

If only she didn't have to go back to that horrible place...


	5. Chapter 4: Enter the Faerie

A/N: Hello all. Just a few quick things, because this chapter stirs things up a little.

Warning: This chapter implies certain acts of child abuse more strongly than some of the other chapters. If you have a problem with it, don't read.

Those of you familiar with Shakespearean plays may notice a familiar faerie in the midst of this chapter. You may even ask yourself "Hey, I thought that character was a guy?" Well my dears, in more and more versions of _A Midsummer Night's Dream_, the character of Robin Goodfellow is being portrayed as a female. That's my personal preference, and for the purposes of this story, how it is.

Warnings for Greek curses. If you know Greek, and I have made great error, I apologize. Kinda flyin' by the seat of my pants on that.

My co-author's works can be found here:

http:/ www. fanfiction .net/ u/ 1253199/ Obis_Second_Cousin

**Very Important!**: If you want to see the illustrations that my co-author has created to go along with the story, check out her deviantArt account: SilverGryphon8 (

http:/ silvergryphon8. deviantart. com / )

Disclaimer: We own nothing, except a rare few characters. The others belong to Marvel, or themselves. Sorry.

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Chapter 4: Enter the Faerie

Mouse looked up at the dark sky, flinching back from the thunder and lightning of the afternoon storm. The heat of the summer had finally begun to dissipate in September, but they had been having some terrible storms. She slid back the board that would grant her access to the warehouse, and slipped inside, as the wind whipped through her.

The child was already drenched, her mismatching clothing sticking to her skin. The effect made her seem even smaller than usual. Fingerprint bruising could be seen up and down her thin arms, and there were more hidden under her clothing. A dark bruise ran along the upper part of her jaw line into her scalp, and under her short dark blond hair were the marks wearing someone had gripped her by the back of the neck. Such markings were usual for Mouse, but she winced slightly as she moved today. Nights had been bad lately. Devon was having some sort of trouble with his suppliers, and it was making him more irritable than usual. Which meant that anytime Mouse stumbled into his path, she was bound to be on the receiving end of his anger.

Pulling the boards shut behind her, Mouse wrung out her hair and weaved through the stacked crates to where Otto had set up shop. Today, she pulled a boxed sandwich and a broken wrapped cookie out of her bag, and sat them carefully on the crate just off to Otto's side. The packages were a bit damp, and Mouse looked down at her bag and scowled-like her, the thing was soaked through. Moving off to her area of the warehouse, she started pulling things out of the messenger bag-bottles and cans, which she turned in for money, her teddy bear Tonto, and a sketchpad and crayons. A bottle of water and half sandwich. She sat everything out on a crate to dry, then sat the bag on its own crate.

The notebook looked to be a lost cause. Mouse opened it carefully, frowning at the pages that threatened to come apart in her hand. She had liked this notebook, and didn't want to have to toss it out now. It was one of the ones Otto had given her, and she'd been trying to take good care of them. Now this one had gotten ruined.

He'd become accustomed to the little girl who came by on a regular basis now. It was nice to have another human being around, even if it was a child. The last several months had been acutely lonely.

Larry, who seemed to like little Mouse the most, chirped a greeting when she came in out of the rain. Otto looked up. The child was soaked to the skin, as were most of the things she was pulling out of the messenger bag she always carried. She also looked dirtier than usual, with dark smudges on her skin. That was odd. Wet as she was, she ought to be relatively clean.

He turned to look at her, his eyes unreadable behind his goggles. The actuators turned with him, peering to get a better look. Then Flo hissed.

_dirt not dirt bruises_

"What?"

Flo reached out and curled gently around the girl, herding her closer to Otto as he came to meet her halfway, crouching so that he was at her level. He gripped her chin and turned her head so that the marks on her jaw were more easily seen. They were indeed bruises, dark, ugly looking purple and blue blotches, very fresh. They hadn't been there last night. While the sight of bruises on the child was not an uncommon one, these seemed worse than usual.

Mouse allowed Flo to herd her closer, though she looked at the actuator nervously. When Otto gripped her chin she froze, shrinking into herself and stifling the urge to run. Had she done something to make him angry? Anger led to pain, and Mouse did not want to make more people angry. Especially not Otto, as the actuators could do so much more than just a human hand.

She could have been stone under his hand, still as a statue. Her mind instinctively prepared itself for pain, preparing to let go and sail away, to save her from the worst of things. It was what she did when Devon hit her, what she did when Stevie came looking for her at night. She would imagine the birds and clouds and pretend she was up there with them, soaring above the city.

Otto felt sick at the very thought. Someone had done this to her. Someone had hurt Mouse, a girl who was as about as offensive as her namesake- that is, not at all. Someone had hit her, handled her roughly, had perhaps...

He was a monster, yes, but this... this was just plain wrong.

"Turn down the lights," he ordered. Harry chirped and did so, dimming the illumination where he could take off his heavy goggles without screaming in pain. He did so, looking at Mouse with hard brown eyes. "Who did this to you, Mouse? Was it someone at home?"

Mouse shrank back even further, growing more nervous when the lights were turned down. She did not like the dark. Bad things happened in the dark. And in the city, bad things _lived_ in the dark. She did not want to think that Otto could be a bad thing. He had been nicer to her than most people in her life.

She ducked her head, tears of fear and shame coming to her eyes. She did not let them fall-not yet. Crying tended to make things worse, if they saw you do it. Even silent tears made Devon more angry. Mouse swallowed hard, trying to push the tears away. Why couldn't he just ignore the bruises like her mother did? Just let them keep on as they had been? She didn't bother him, and she tried to be nice by bringing him food. And sometimes he did nice things for her too. Why was he angry? Was it because she'd gotten hurt?

Otto realized he was shaking. One of the actuators- Mo, he thought- flexed its claws into the floor, crushing the boards into splinters and leaving a Y-shaped gouge in them. Mouse flinched hard at the sound, but it snapped him out of the furious daze. He blinked, and saw the glimmer of tears welling up in Mouse's eyes. He was scaring her.

"I'm sorry, Mouse," he said softly, giving her a hug. "This isn't your fault."

It took several moments for his words and actions to register completely to her brain. When they did, she merely blinked at him, confused. How was this not her fault? It was always her fault.

He pulled back, the actuators drawing around him- all except Larry, who curled around Mouse and chittered. There was an angry note to the actuator's 'vocalization', which matched the angry tone of its 'voice' in his head. Larry was furious. Of all the actuators, it had taken the greatest liking to Mouse, and it wanted to tear the people who'd hurt her to pieces.

Frankly, Otto wanted to as well.

"This is not your fault," he repeated, looking into the little girl's face. "The people who hurt you were wrong to do that." So, it seemed that semester of psychology he'd been required to take had paid off a little. "You're staying here tonight. You're not going back there again if I have anything to say about it."

If the actuators had anything to say about it, there wouldn't be a 'back there' for her to go to. Not for long.

Mouse patted Larry a bit nervously, then slid out from under the actuator. The angry chittering of the machines were keeping her from relaxing. Despite Otto's words, she could tell he was angry. And it was because of her.

She slunk back to her corner, and picked up her teddy bear. He was soggy, but hugging him still made him feel better. Mouse tucked him under an arm and started putting her bottles and everything else back into her bag. When she had finished, she started to slink back to her entrance. She might not go home, but she didn't want to make Otto angry either. She would just go to one of her old hideouts for awhile. But Larry stopped her before she could go too far towards her entrance, powerful jaws clamping down on her arm delicately.

"No, Mouse," Otto said. "Please don't go. I need you to stay here. I am not angry with you."

Mouse whimpered a little, though Larry's grip on her didn't hurt. She was confused by Otto's actions-it took her a moment to realize that, while Otto was angry, he was not directing the anger at her.

"Stay here," he repeated once more. "You're going to be alright. No one is going to hurt you anymore, understand?"

Larry released its hold on her arm and nuzzled her, though it continued to make those agitated clicking sounds. _get the ones that did this kill them rip them apart make them hurt too_

'As soon as we get there_,' _Otto promised silently.

"Stay here, stay dry. I'll be back soon."

Mouse bit her lip, and slowly sat her bag back on the crate. She hugged Tonto tightly, a little bit of water running out of the worn bear onto her shoes. Looking up at Otto, she nodded her understanding slowly. She would stay put, because he had told her too.

The girl started pulling her things back out of her bag, shivering a little as cool air breezed through the drafty warehouse. There was a loud clap of thunder, and she jumped, looking up at the ceiling, as though afraid the thunder would come crashing through. Otto nodded and directed Larry to drape a blanket over her shoulders. No use getting her away from that place if she was going to get sick. The actuator obeyed and gave her one final nuzzle before it rejoined its host and siblings. There was work to do.

Heavy metal claws made a distinctive clanking thud on the ground as Doctor Octopus went out into the thunderstorm. He was soaked within minutes, but he didn't care. The heat given off by the nuclear power packs in the actuators' harness kept him warm enough. More importantly, the actuators allowed him to take to the rooftops, and to see through the rainy dimness of the stormy late afternoon with ease. Following his mental map, he headed off in the direction of the crack house Mouse called a home.

Robin Goodfellow-also known as The Puck-had heard some very interesting things about some of the ghettos of Manahata-modern day Manhattan. She was on free reign from the Court, and had been bounding around the city for a few nights now. Now she was in Hell's Kitchen, looking for a bit of fun. Scaring the junkies had been fun—they usually thought her illusions were some sort of hallucination—but she'd just about had her fill of that. She needed some fresh mischief.

There was a loud thunking sound overhead. Robin looked up, shrugged, and followed it. Perhaps Hermes was sending something interesting her way.

Samantha Mercer had grown up in Hell's Kitchen. She'd gotten knocked up in high school, and had always resented that fact, just a bit. Her own mother had taken care of baby Maggie—quickly nicknamed Mouse, for her size. Evelyn Mercer was everything to her granddaughter that her daughter was not. Samantha had worked various dead-end jobs to support her child, but never felt the maternal instinct that Evelyn thought she should. She loved her child, to some extent. Once she had gotten a little bigger, Samantha had enjoyed playing games with her. Her Maggie Mouse was a cute little girl, and Samantha could dress her up like a doll. But at best, Mouse had been a source for entertainment. At worst, she felt like a ball and chain.

But then Evelyn had died, and the stress of taking care of a four year old on her own was too much. Samantha had never lost touch with some of the people she'd gone to high school with—few people left Hell's Kitchen. Reconnecting with Devon had been easy. He'd come over, brought some stuff...and for the first time in four years, she'd felt free. It was like falling off a cliff. When Devon and his friends had needed a place to stay, she let them move in. It had gone downhill from there, but she didn't care. She had sex, drugs, and felt better than she had in years. Her daughter faded into the background, and Samantha didn't care.

So she ignored the noises that came from her daughter's room at night, and if Devon was a little rough with her sometimes...well, then the girl ought to know to stay out of his way by now. Devon was right, after all…Mouse was a retard, and wouldn't amount to anything anyway. Why should she waste her time on a daughter who couldn't even talk?

A storm was raging outside, but it was all good inside. Devon passed her a joint, and Samantha took it with a smile. If the fact that her child was outside in such a storm bothered her, she didn't show it.

He looked down at the building, gloved hands clenched into fists. There it was. The crack house. Mouse's home. A run-down little place in the middle of a hellhole. Otto knew he could still walk away from this, give an anonymous tip to the police, and let them take care of it.

Like Hell he could. This was Hell's Kitchen. The police who were willing to do their jobs still wouldn't be worried about one neglected little girl. Besides, none of them knew what someone down there had done to Mouse. None of them would care.

Flo reared over him, parting its jaws wide to get the clearest view for its camera. The infrared feed showed him six hotspots, all on the same floor of the building. Six was two more than he could immediately handle, but he was counting on the fact that they would likely be stoned to the gills and not much of a threat.

He waited for a flicker of lightning to lick across the sky overhead before jumping. The actuators had been timing the storm, and so were able to direct the jump so that they landed as the thunder crashed, effectively hiding the sound of impact. Thunder did not, however, disguise the wrenching sound the door made when Mo ripped it from its hinges and tossed it inside.

Otto stalked inside, momentarily backlit by another flash of lightning that made him look like some tentacled, Cthulu-esque demon. The room was as run-down as the outside of the building, people scattered about on battered couches or armchairs or even just slumped in a corner. The stink of marijuana hit him immediately with almost palpable force.

"Which one of you," he snarled, "Which one of you sick _bastards_ hurt her?" Flo and Mo and Larry curled over his shoulders, snapping and casting their bloody red lights over the scene as Harry planted itself on the floor for support.

A few of the junkies blinked at the man standing in the doorway. Devon had his arm around Samantha, and cocked his head. So, the famed Doc Ock lived and was right there in his house. One hand inched towards the gun in his waistband. "Gonna have to be more specific with that, brother," he said. "Who's 'her'?"

Robin perched on a fire escape railing, watching the strange man with metal arms rip into a house that reeked of drugs. Interesting indeed. She jumped down the four stories to the ground, and slunk closer. She was invisible to mortal eyes for now-all the better to watch the party. An old line ran through her head. '_An actor too perhaps if I see fit…_'

_who's her who's her indeed we'll show you who_

Two actuators shot at the speaker, one clamping its jaws around his chest and the other tearing the woman from his side. Otto directed Flo to be more careful with her- he had a vague notion that Mouse's tormentor was more likely to be a male. At least, if his own father was any judge...

That did not, of course, mean that Flo was in any way _gentle_. It was just less rough as it shoved her into a moth-eaten armchair and curled back to watch the other junkies. They, at least, were too stoned to do much of anything.

"The girl," Otto said. Mo shook its captive like a terrier with a rat, though it was careful not to snap his neck by accident. That was the lovely thing about the actuators- they could fine-tune their strength to the occasion at hand. "Mouse."

Devon looked at the actuator holding him, too stoned to be truly afraid. He aimed the gun at Samantha. "Stupid bitch. Why didn't you drown that worthless brat at birth?"

Samantha eyed the gun and tossed the used joint on the floor. "Mouse is fine," she told the strange man. "If she got hurt, it's her own fault. She knows better than to get underfoot." One finger dipped into the powder Stevie had in a tin, and went into her nose. "What do you care anyway?"

Robin crept closer, standing in the doorway behind the man. So, a child had been hurt. This man was seeking vengeance. Good. She could do with a fight, and the cause was worthy enough to justify it to her lord. Perfect.

He thought he'd been angry before. Now, though...

_gun gun he has a gun_ The actuators did not like guns- run-ins with armed police shooting at them tended to leave a machine with that impression.

"Then get rid of it," Otto said. He was shaking now.

_gladly_ Mo reared up, then slammed its captive into the wall. There was a sharp bang as the handgun went off, but Otto heard no sudden cries of pain, so the bullet hadn't hit anyone. The gun dropped from the man's fingers as Mo slammed him into the wall again. Cheap wooden panels crumpled like paper. So did the man.

Otto ignored the man's pitiful cries and whirled to face the woman. "I care," he spat, "Because she is a child, and you-" Flo screeched, knocked the tin away, and smacked the woman to the floor. "Have allowed her to be hurt. You sicken me, woman. Your own _daughter,_ damn you!"

Robin felt her blood start to boil with rage. Parents were meant to protect their children. Children were gifts, precious in every sense. This piece of _skata_ had allowed her's to be injured?

Stevie, not quite as stoned as his friends, began to squirm. He slid away from Samantha, inching towards the door. Mouse didn't talk, not ever...but what if she had? He looked at the limp form of Devon, and decided he didn't want to take that chance.

Robin leaned against the doorway, and became visible just as the man neared her. "Where you goin'?" she asked casually, hands in her pockets. She could smell the sweet smell of a child on this man. In all the ways that she hated. In the old days, children had been sold as slaves or used as sacrifices for the gods. But the world had grown wiser since then. Even one with a libido such as hers would never dream of looking at a child in _that_ manner.

One hand shot out, connecting with the nervous man's chest. Robin effortlessly pushed him back into the room, throwing him at the feet of the man-machine. "This a private party?" she asked. "Or can anyone join in?"

Two actuators whirled to eye the newcomer. She was petite, brown-haired, wearing dark jeans and tank top under an army-green jacket that was vaguely reminiscent of the one Otto wore now, though it was shorter. A brief analysis of Otto's memories classified her as being of a type he favored, though what he would make of the fact that she'd tossed a grown man nearly a foot taller than she was across the room without even blinking they had no idea.

_who is she yes this is a private party what is she doing here perhaps could make exception to invitation-only rule strength may not be her only power damn mutants_

Otto glanced up at the newcomer to look for himself, light glinting off the dark lenses of his goggles. A dozen questions flashed through his mind- chief among them 'Who the hell are you?'- but he quashed them. "Be my guest," he said, and looked back down at the woman. "Get out of my sight," he snapped at her. "If I _ever_ see you again, I will peel the flesh from your bones and leave what's left in the sewers for the rats."

Samantha rose and headed for the door, before some spark of material instinct sounded in her head. "Where is she?" she asked, sounding a little lost herself. Surely she couldn't just _leave_ her child.

"You don't deserve to know that," Otto informed Mouse's mother. "She's safe, which is more than she ever was with you. Now get out."

Robin eyed the woman with an impassive eye. The man on the floor was trying to crawl away. She rolled her eyes, and pushed him down with a foot. "If you're looking for someone who's been after a child," she started, "you might ought to deal with this one next. He absolutely _reeks_ of child." She leaned down, her green eyes flashing dangerously as she got in Stevie's face. "Why don't you tell the nice man just what you like about little girls, you sorry piece of _skata_ from the depths of Hades?"

Larry studied the younger woman for a moment, then extended the eighteen-inch spike it carried, pressing it delicately and quite deliberately against the pedophile's groin. The actuator knew Otto's revulsion for what the woman had implied and they were extensions of Otto's will. And Otto wanted to hurt this man.

"Why bother letting him talk?" Otto snarled. "The poison will only get on you too." He gave Larry the order, and the actuator savagely bore down on its captive.

A smile slowly spread over Robin's face as she watched the man writhe in pain. "Most impressive," she commented. She wasn't supposed to hurt mortals when it could be avoided, but that didn't mean she couldn't put them in situations to be injured. Or killed, as this _sihama_ would more than likely bleed to death before he got any help.

Samantha was lingering in the doorway, guilt in her eyes. Robin snarled, and stalked to her, grabbing her arm. Leaning in, she began whispering in a harsh tone in her ear. This went on for several minutes, the mortal's eyes growing large and fearful. At last, Robin released her, and the woman finally fled from the house.

Robin turned to eye the remaining junkies in the room. The one that had been thrown into the wall was beginning to stir. She put her hands on her hips, surveying the room. "Which ones do you want?" she asked.

"The ones that hurt Mouse," Otto replied. He looked dispassionately down at the man writhing on the floor. The groin area had quite a few large blood vessels around it. His victim would probably bleed to death. He hesitated a moment, debating whether to make the death quick or slow.

The memory of Mouse, the way the skin on her face and arms had darkened with bruising, the way she flinched when he, an adult male, got upset or even happened to stare into space in her direction for too long, stayed his hand. This man did not deserve a swift demise. Let him bleed.

She assumed that Mouse was the child. Sniffing the air, she pointed at the one against the wall, and the one on the ground. "I think they're it," she said. Stalking over to where two others were huddled in a drug-induced haze, she crouched and bared her teeth at them. "Want to play a game?" she asked innocently.

The pair looked at each other, looked at her, and stumbled to their feet, running for the door. She straightened and let them go.

Leaving the metal man to his fun, she breezed through the house, tracking the scent of the child to a room with a dirty mattress, old blanket and a pillow that might have been mistaken for a pancake. Robin shook her head, and picked up two worn children's books and two sketchpads from the floor next to the makeshift bed. She gave the bed one last glance, enraged at the things she smelled there. But she reminded herself of the man dying downstairs. There was no true justice for stealing the innocence of a child, but at least he would not go easy.

She headed back down the stairs, books in hand, to see the man's handiwork. The Puck had never seen anything quite like the four metal arms, and was quite fascinated by them.

Otto had allowed the actuators free reign with the remaining men who had hurt Mouse. He simply stood there and let them enact his dark desires for them.

To his distant surprise, he noticed that the actuators crushed none of their victims, either with their claws or by constricting around them like pythons. He'd thought that they might try it, but instead they snapped the neck of one man by twisting his head around, and lashed the other one about in a cruel parody of a child's 'crack the whip' game, snapping tendons and bones alike and leaving him screaming on the floor before Larry stabbed him through the throat.

"Never again," Otto growled. "Never again will you hurt her."

Robin stood on the last step of the staircase, watching the show. How interesting. She'd heard rumors of strange men, running about the city in costumes and the like. But this one seemed...different. He wasn't trying to be a hero, he was just correcting a wrong. In a savage way that very much appealed to her hobgoblin nature.

There was one last junkie, huddled near the stairs. The scent of the child on him made Robin's head turn sharply, her eyes flashing Glamour green. Cocking her head, she moved towards him, trying to determine if the scent was from living in the same space or if he had hurt her. "What about you then, boyo?" she asked, leaning a hand against the wall by his head. "You make some fun of your own?"

The man quivered, and the acid scent of urine filled the air. "I ain't never touched that child," he said in a shaking voice. "Little kid came and went. What did I care, so long as she stayed out of the way?" Hell, he'd even made her a sandwich once, when he'd caught her lingering near the kitchen and he'd been making his own.

Robin sniffed again, but found no lie in his eyes. Fear, yes, but no lies. She jerked a packet of powder from his hands, frowning at it. Chemicals. The strange chemicals that mortals insisted on poisoning themselves with. Opiates and the gods only knew what else. She tossed it aside with a growl.

"Do yourself a favor, and clean yourself up," she snarled, her eyes glowing bright green. "Stop wasting the pathetic life the gods gave you." The man nodded, and as she stepped back, ran for the back door. Robin turned to see if the man was finished. Well...there certainly wasn't much more he could do to the damned souls. She nodded her approval. Let Hades cast them into the deepest circles of Tartarus, to receive their punishments.

She approached the man with one eye on the metal snakes around him. Robin knew that she was faster than they were, but one had to be aware to have the advantage. She extended the books to him. "Thought your little friend might want these back," she said with a shrug. The books were old and stained, though the sketchbooks appeared brand new. She could feel the child's presence on them. They had been handled lovingly, almost reverently. Yes, she would want them in her new home, wherever that may be.

He was still trembling a little, though most of his rage had been spent with the lives of the junkies. They were dead, and would never be able to hurt Mouse again.

Flo shook herself, complaining that it would take ages to clean the blood from her claws and joints. Funny, how they hadn't complained after the hospital.

Turning, he looked closer at the young woman who'd shown up and so eerily pinpointed who deserved to die. She was holding out two worn picture books. Through Flo's camera he could read the titles- _The Velveteen Rabbit_ and, he thought rather appropriately, _If You Give A Mouse A Cookie_. Otto took them from her, brow knitted slightly. "Who are you?"

Robin smiled, sticking her hands in her back pockets. "The Puck," she said. "Also known as Robin Goodfellow. And who might you be? Not every day I run across a part-mechanical avenger of wrongs."

She watched as a few of the tentacles swooped closer to track her. Cocking her head at the strange machines, she waggled a few fingers at the bright red lights. Perhaps a camera of sorts, as they seemed able to see on their own. Most new technology was beyond her, but some of it she still grasped.

_what the hell is she puck what kind of name is puck is she not human readings do not match too hot what is that energy field around her what the hell_

The actuators continued with their confused relay of their analyses, chattering and craning about to look at her from all angles and available spectra. She called herself Puck. He knew that name- Rosie had dragged him to a couple performances, both in Central Park and ones put on by the ESU drama department. _A Midsummer Night's Dream_ was one of her favorite Shakespearian plays.

"You're Puck," he said flatly, one eyebrow raised. "Really, girl, do you honestly expect me to believe you're the Puck? 'Shrewd and knavish sprite' and all that? Do I look that gullible?"

Robin sighed. "At least you know the name. That's something." So many didn't, not anymore. "To think there was a time when every peasant in Britannia knew me." She shook her head. "Here. Might as well make those a little more presentable for a little girl."

Sparkling green pinwheels of Glamour came from her hand, and were sent over to cover the books in his hands. The tears and soiled spots were fixed, though she left marks that showed the books were well-worn and loved. The pages were still soft, not stiff and new. Raising an eyebrow at him, she allowed a small quirk of a smile at his expression. Priceless, that.

Otto stared at the flare of green light, though it was bright enough to hurt his eyes a little, even through his goggles. The tears and stains on the books were gone, just like that, just like...

_like magic magic does not exist cannot exist some application of unknown energy field how the hell did she do that_

He and two actuators looked up at the girl. "How the _hell_ did you do that?" he asked.

Robin gave him a smile. "Magic," she said simply. "I am a faerie, after all. Or is further demonstration required?"

She could do with a bit of showing off. The Puck always liked to perform, after all. And when the audience was such a fascinating one as this...

_a faerie what clap your hands if you believe_

Otto laughed harshly, the sound more appropriate to Doctor Octopus than to Otto Octavius himself. "A faerie. My dear girl, you will have to demonstrate very thoroughly to get me to believe that you are a faerie and not some delusional mutant. I have never believed in faeries."

Robin clutched her chest for a moment, as if stabbed. Then she smirked, and rolled her eyes. "Good thing Barrie's mumbo-jumbo is false, or we would have all died out ages ago." She rubbed her hands together, an impish smile blooming on her face. Her brilliance sometimes amazed even herself.

"Alright then, maestro. You want a demonstration? I'll give you a demonstration."

More green Glamour cartwheeled around her hands, as she thrust them towards him. The lights swirled around him for a moment, before a new man emerged. No strange metal arms this time. The machines were hidden, and the man's ragged attire replaced with something more...approachable. He looked perfectly normal-and rather handsome, now that she saw him properly.

_what_

The actuators just had time for that panicked exclamation before there was a swirling of lights and then- nothing. No voices in his head, no metal arms attached to his back, nothing to help keep his weight off his bad leg, which was hurting more than usual after all the fun. Otto grimaced and hurriedly shifted to the other side as pain flared up his right leg and into his spine.

"What did you _do_?" he demanded, looking at her with something between shock and horror.

Robin smiled, and conjured up a full length mirror. She held it before the man, so that he could see himself properly. "Do you believe me yet?" she asked.

He seemed to be in some pain, so she extended a general soothing Glamour-no lights for this one, they were mostly for show. Just a little something to help with the pain. She watched the man examine himself, waiting for him to either declare the whole thing mad or find some other explanation for what she had done.

The pain faded as she gestured again. That, perhaps more than the disappearance of the actuators or the sudden change of his clothing, made the hair at the back of his neck stand on end. She may or may not be a faerie, as she claimed, but she definitely had power of some kind.

"You're something," he admitted. "I don't know what."

Robin rolled her eyes, and extended a hand. With a snap of her fingers, the illusion was broken. The mirror gone, the man's original appearance intact. He staggered a little, the actuators scritching and snapping in agitation. They did not like being made to disappear. They really did not like that. And yet they did not strike at her, instead maintaining a safe distance. There was something new in their manner- fear. They were afraid. For the first time, they had come up against something they could not fight, couldn't comprehend. And that scared him.

"Look at me," Robin said, indicating her clothing. "It's storming outside, yeah? Pouring cats and dogs, as they say. If I'm not a faerie-or some other kind of creature with ties to nature-then what am I?" Her clothes were dry, after all. She was not the least bit damp. She could control the elements, to some extent, which might that if she wanted to stay dry, then she did.

"I- more illusions," he said. "You could be a mutant with very powerful skills at illusion creation."

She cocked her head at him. "Mutant?" she asked, confused. She stirred the word around in her head for a few moments...was that what they were calling the humans who were turning up with powers? The evolved ones? It sounded right. Shaking her head, she ran a hand through her hair. "Sweet and mighty Zeus. Ah well." She rubbed her forehead and shrugged. "No one does denial like mortals. It's rather sweet, I suppose." At least, until that ignorance got you eaten.

Robin gave the man a smile and a shrug. "You ought to get back to your friend. Going to be dark soon-not a safe time to be out and about. Nasty things live in the dark."

Flo snapped at the air, jaws coming together with a clang of metal. They could handle anything in the dark that would dare try and cross their path. Anything like this self-proclaimed 'faerie' would get struck down before it had a chance to make them disappear.

"I know that," Otto said. "Not much is scarier than I am, Miss Goodfellow. Not in this city." He tucked the books into his pocket. Glancing at her through his goggles, he hesitated a moment. Perhaps he ought to extend some sort of courtesy? She had power. And she had helped him...

_she made us disappear_

Better to make friends with the person who could make his greatest weapons an allies vanish at the snap of her fingers than to make an enemy of her.

He extended his hand. "Doctor Otto Octavius."

Robin inclined her head to him, accepting his hand. "Well met, Otto Octavius," she answered. She sniffed the air, taking in the parts of his scent.

"And perhaps there is not much tougher than you, but there are creatures who troll warehouses and the like. If they catch the scent of a little girl alone..." she let the warning hang in the air. All sorts of supernatural predators lurked in urban areas. Revenants, wolves, incubi, succubi...they came in all breeds, and most of them fed on humans. No, they would not pass up the chance to feed on a child left unattended.

He had the distinct impression that she was sniffing him. It was a distinctly odd feeling. Humans didn't do that. Could she, possibly, be what she claimed?

_ridiculous no such thing as faeries_

Mo curved over his shoulder, looking directly into the girl's face, examining her closely.

_ears pointed ears look_

They were, slightly pointed where most other people's would curve.

He shivered slightly and withdrew his hand. "Thank you for your assistance. Do you wish to meet the child you helped avenge?"

Robin blinked at him, tucking a strand of hair behind a slightly pointed ear. "Uh...sure. I suppose. Why not?" Might as well make sure the child was in better straits now than at the crack house. Though it would be hard for things to get much worse for her.

Otto nodded. "Come on then." Mo looked back at him dubiously. They had to go over rooftops. She wouldn't be able to, which meant they would have to carry her. They didn't want to carry her. What if she made them disappear again?

He shooed Mo away and led Robin outside, three actuators gripping the wall. The fourth extended towards her grudgingly at his order. "May I?"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "I can keep up," she said. In the blink of an eye, she was up the side of the building and on the roof, looking down at him.

"Are you coming?" she called down with a smile.

Otto blinked. One moment she was there, the next she was at the top of the building. That was... impressive.

He smiled a little. Very impressive. Maybe she was what she claimed. He climbed up after her.

"So," he said. "A faerie."

Robin grinned at him. "Now you're gettin' it," she said. A little toying with the air around her kept the rain cascading around her body, coming within a hair's width of her, but not actually touching.

He took the lead, and she followed him, not traveling at her fastest pace-not by a long shot-but keeping an even stride. Soon they came up on a warehouse. Robin paused, hanging back a little from Otto. Better that the child see him first, before her.

Otto dropped in first, actuators shaking water from themselves. The blood had more or less washed off until they were left clean.

"Mouse?" he said, wiping water from his eyes. "Mouse, are you still here?"

Mouse peeked up from behind a crate, rubbing sleep from her eyes. She'd been tired from her day, and then had gotten comfortable with the blanket. But she was a light sleeper, and had woken at the sound of Otto and his actuators.

He was all wet. Of course, he would be wet, after going out in the rain. Which was silly of him, Mouse thought. She walked over and handed him the blanket. He needed it now. She was still damp, but he was far wetter than she was.

Movement from above caught her eye, and Mouse looked up. There was a woman there. She was squatted next to the skylight, watching them. Mouse moved a little closer to Otto, as the woman jumped down. She landed in a squat, then straightened. Mouse cocked her head at the strange sight. The actuators broke Otto's landing...how had the strange woman done it?

"Hello there," Robin greeted with a smile. Mouse squirmed back until she was behind Otto, frowning at her. The woman was dry, as if she'd been walking in the sun. How could she be dry when Otto was soaking wet?

Otto smiled his most reassuring at her. "It's alright, Mouse," he told her, displaying a gentleness he hadn't shown anyone since Rosie. "This is Robin Goodfellow. She's a friend." He arched an eyebrow at Goodfellow.

Robin smiled a little wider. "Of course I am." She dug around in her pocket, her arm going down further than it should have been able to. She pulled a chocolate bar out of the depths. Mouse's eyes went wide-it wasn't even squished. How had she done that?

The faerie kept eye contact with the girl, and held up the chocolate bar. Then she sat it on the crate nearest them and nudged it towards her. "You look like you deserve a treat," she said.

Most children would have known that taking candy from strangers was bad. But no one had ever told Mouse that. In her world, sharing food was how one fostered trust. She bit her lip, then snaked out a hand and took the chocolate. It disappeared into one of her pockets for later. But she gave Robin a small smile of her own.

Otto eyed the chocolate bar with momentary wariness, then nodded. Robin had just helped him take out the people who would hurt Mouse. It seemed improbable that she would turn around and try to poison her or something. Still, he gave the woman a stern look. If something did happen to Mouse, he would do to Robin Goodfellow what he'd done to the junkies.

"Mouse," he said softly, crouching to look at her with care for his bad leg, "Those men aren't going to hurt you again. You're safe from them now."

Mouse stared at him for a long moment. Safe was a relative term for her. Did this mean that they were gone? That she could go home and it would just be her and her mommy again?  
The child hesitated, then put her arms around Otto's neck. She gave him as tight a hug as she could manage. Then she went over to his chair, and managed to nudge it a few inches in his direction. He seemed to be moving stiffly, and Mouse remembered his leg. He ought to be sitting.

Robin quirked a smile at the girl's actions. It was good to see that her spirit had not been completely broken by her life. Though it was curious...she was so quiet. Robin realized the child had not uttered a word since they had arrived. Strange, but it was not something she was going to call her on. It clearly wasn't out of the ordinary, given Otto's reaction.

Otto hugged her back and let her go when she withdrew. She was a sweet child.

"Thank you," he told her, then limped to the chair she indicated and sat in it. God, his leg ached. Supporting the four actuators while they'd been lashing about had been harder than he'd thought, and his leg was letting him know that it did not approve.

Robin crossed her arms, studying the man. He was in pain, that much was clear. She wasn't much of a healer, but she'd managed to relieve his pain earlier. Maybe a slightly stronger trick would do more good. A bit of Glamour sparked around her fingers as she mentally prepared the spell. She didn't send out a visible Glamour for fear that the machines may be jumpy after her trick. This was just enough to soothe his pains, hopefully enough for him to be able to rest.

The fire in his leg ebbed, too suddenly for it to have just stopped hurting on its own. For a moment Otto thought the actuators might have cut off his pain receptors, but Flo and the others seemed just as surprised as he was.

Robin. It had to be Robin. He looked up at her, frowning slightly. As welcome as the pain relief was, he wasn't sure how he felt about her messing with his body.

Mouse moved to where her belongings had been drying, and gathered them into her bag. If the bad men were gone, then she could go home now. Granted, it was raining...but maybe her mommy would fix her a bath, and read her a bedtime story. It would be like it was before her gran died. She whispered into Tonto's ear, and patted his head, putting him in the bag last. Ready, she put the bag over her shoulder, and wondered if she ought to tell Otto goodbye. She wouldn't need a hideout anymore now. But she could still try to come and see him sometimes.

Otto glanced towards Mouse at Larry's chirp."Where are you going?" he asked her.

Mouse looked at him, a little confused. Surely he knew? The bad men were gone. She was going home.

Robin followed his gaze to the girl. Centuries of existence made her well adept at reading human behavior. She saw the hope that lurked in the girl's eyes. "Oh sweetie," Robin sighed. Damn, this was not going to be easy. And she felt worse for Otto, because even if Robin told her, it wouldn't ring true until it came from someone she trusted.

The faerie looked at the scientist, leaning against one of the crates. "She thinks she's going home," she explained softly.

Mouse caught the words, and the confusion on her face deepened. Why wouldn't she be going home?

"Oh." He hadn't thought of this. This honestly had not occurred to him. He felt a pang of guilt. Mouse's mother had left- he'd sent her away. How to tell Mouse this... should he tell her the truth, or lie a little?

"Mouse... I'm sorry, Mouse, but your mother won't be there."

Larry edged towards her, chirping softly and nuzzling at her hand.

Mouse petted Larry absently, still looking puzzled. Why wouldn't her mother be there? Unless...unless she had gone with Devon and the others. Yes, that made sense. But would she really just leave her alone? Or had Otto told her mother that he would take care of her?

The weight of what he had said hit her, and she let the bag fall as she sat down. She was stupid, Mouse knew that. For years the only words sent her way were what a worthless stupid retard she was. But rarely had these words come from her mother. Mouse lived for the pats on the head and rare shows of affection that her mommy showed her. She had always thought that it was just Devon and the powders and drugs that made her mommy ignore her. But maybe...maybe they had been right. Maybe her mommy didn't love her anymore-hadn't loved her since Devon had showed her that Mouse was stupid and clumsy and not worthy of being a real girl with a real home.

Tears prickled at her eyes, and Mouse ducked her head, letting her hair fall into her face. The tears fell silently, and for once she made no effort to push them away.

Robin felt a dull ache in her heart for the child. She had it in her power to make this easier for her-to make the memory of her mother fade. But she was hesitant to do that unless it was absolutely necessary.

Larry curled around her shoulders, still chirping. The actuator looked back at Otto. _sad_

Yes, she was very sad. Slowly, Otto went to her and knelt, hugging her. "I'm sorry, Mouse."

Mouse had flinched at the cold metal, but once she realized the actuator wasn't angry, she didn't try to move away. Then Otto was there, and she let him hug her, though she made no moves to reciprocate.

She wasn't sure what was going to happen now, and that was a scary thing. If she couldn't go home...if her mommy didn't want her anymore, then who would? Who could possibly want a stupid little mute brat of a child?

He had no idea what he was going to do. He couldn't safely keep a child here. How could he? Letting her stay for a few hours was one thing, but long term? The warehouse was no place for a little girl to live... And he wasn't exactly safe to be around. What if the police found him, or one of the local superheroes? Spiderman wasn't much of a problem anymore, though Otto would like to avoid him of he could, but what about Daredevil? This was Daredevil territory, after all.

But he wanted to keep her. He wanted to keep her with him, and keep her safe. But he couldn't... Damn it all to hell.

Otto drew back, pulling off his goggles and looking at her. It was just bright enough in here to make him squint, not quite bad enough to actually hurt.

"I want you to stay with me for a while," he said. He pulled out the two books Robin had found and held them out to Mouse. "Is that alright?"

Mouse looked up at him through tangled bits of hair, tears staining her face. She hesitantly reached out for the books. They were her books, the only two books she'd ever had of her own. She couldn't read them, though she liked to look at the pictures and make up the stories herself. Sometimes she remembered bits from when her gran would read to her. Nowadays, she mostly made them up.

He had fixed them somehow, made them prettier. But then, Otto was very clever. It didn't surprise her that he could find a way to fix her books. And he wanted her too. Why, she didn't know, but it was something. It was a start, and that was all she needed.

Running a hand over one of the covers, she sat the books aside, and sat up on her knees to give Otto a proper hug. It wasn't as tight as the first, but she put her arms as far around him as she could, feeling the metal harness under his clothes. She gave him a small hug of thanks, and pulled back to wipe away some of her tears.

Robin watched the scene, feeling every bit the outsider she usually was. She wanted to help them, somehow. She wasn't sure how yet, but she was going to find a way to help these two mortals. They belonged together. Sometimes family wasn't about who you were born into, but who you found. She knew that-it had happened with her and Oberon, hadn't it?

He wiped a tear off her cheek with his thumb. He had to squint a little against the light, but at least he could look at her directly.

"We'll figure something out," he promised her. "I don't know what yet, but for now, I want you here. It's going to be alright."

Larry nuzzled her cheek in agreement. Mo, meanwhile, had turned back to watch Robin, looking as suspicious as it could.

Robin rolled her eyes at the actuator, and popped out of view for a few seconds. She rounded the warehouse in a flash, setting up a ward that would mask the scent of two humans living within it. It also marked the territory as taken. No free ground here, move along. For the weaker minded supernaturals that lived in the area, it would keep them from investigating too closely.

She came back into, reappearing on the other side of the room, near Otto's desk. The faerie looked over the scientific doo-dads with interest, picking up a coil of wire and toying with it. "Well then," she said brightly. "Any way I can be of service to the two of you?"

Mouse looked sharply at the woman. She hadn't been there a moment ago. Then she frowned at her being at Otto's desk. No one was supposed to touch the things on Otto's desk. That was bad.

"Please don't touch any of that," Otto said to the- God forbid he actually admit it- faerie. He sat Mouse down in his chair and limped over to Robin. "Miss Goodfellow, I'm taking an abused child under my protection, in a warehouse, in the middle of a city full of cops, superheroes, and various assorted criminals and costumed vigilantes who would quite like to take a crack at my hide, few of whom would care that there is a child who could get caught in the crossfire. If you have any suggestions, please, I would love to hear them."

Robin paused, tossed the ball of wire in the air, making it disappear and reappear with a slight of hand that any magician would kill for. "Hmm..." she mused, pacing around a little. "That is a problem. I haven't much experience with costumed vigilantes or any of that sort...but I suppose your best option is to stay out of sight as best you can. I can help with that."

At his look of annoyance, she rolled her eyes, and sat the wire back on the table. She caught sight of the girl hiding a yawn behind her hand, and smiled. "We'll take a few days to think on it. I'll bring you what you need as far as the necessities go. I'm sure if we put our heads together we can come up with something." She winked at Mouse, and walked over to pat Otto's arm.

"In the meantime..." A bright swirl of Glamour was sent over to the area that appeared to be Mouse's. A small bed appeared in the space. Low to the ground, as the child was used to sleeping on the floor, but its wooden frame helped it look as though it belonged among the crates. A dusky pink blanket and two soft pillows sat at the head.

"Every little girl needs a comfy place to sleep," she said.

The scientist glanced down at the faerie who stood by him, her hand still on his arm. The actuators looked too.

_matter from nothing cannot be done not without tremendous quantities of energy how does she do it_

"That's not going to disappear at midnight, is it?" he asked dryly, one eyebrow raised as he dropped the goggles back over his eyes to shield them from the light. "Isn't that how these things work?"

Robin put a hand on her hip, raising an eyebrow at the man. Scientists. Most disbelieving of any mortals. "Do I strike you as the type to give something to a little girl then take it away again?" she asked.

Granted, there were some of her kind who would, and laugh at the tears. But Robin liked children. She liked the innocence in their eyes, and this little girl had lost too much already. The Puck was finding that she wanted to put a bit of that spark back. And there was nothing like magic to do it.

"I don't know, Miss Goodfellow," he replied coolly. "I've only just met you, and you're reputed to be a notorious mischief maker. I know next to nothing about you and your kind. I am a scientist. When I do not know something, I either ask questions or conduct research into the problem. Given my lack of reliable research material and your presence, I concluded it would be best to ask you directly."

He pummeled his memory for a moment, trying to come up with anything he knew about faeries. It was scant, to say the least- he'd rarely listened in on discussions between Rosie's friends, one of whom was something of a scholar in folklore.

"Thank you, however. Is there some sort of ritual or something you require in exchange? Some token of thanks?"

Robin blinked at him, and tried very, very hard not to get offended. He was only a mortal, after all. "No. I'm doing this because I want to. I'm not some lowly brownie scraping up messes for cream and bread." Though, she did like cream. Most of her kind did.

Mouse hopped off the chair, and padded over to the bed. It was just the right height for her. She tentatively touched the soft bedspread. For her? Never mind how it had appeared...the lady was magic, like from the faerie tales. Maybe she was a fairy godmother, come to help her and Otto. He needed a fairy godmother too, after all.

"And I might be a mischief maker, but I do have standards. I do not perform such mischief upon children, especially not good ones." Though, she had been known to make a few bullies cry in her time. It was only fair.

"As I said before, Miss Goodfellow, I know next to nothing of your kind. Very few universities these days have courses on faerie etiquette or a field guide to the various sorts. At least, none I attended or visited. But then, as a physicist I had remarkably little to do with history, literature, and folklore."

Mouse continued to stroke the soft bedcover. It was perfect. So perfect. She ran over to her bag, and pulled out Tonto. He was still a bit damp, but she didn't care. With exquisite care, she placed him in front of the top pillow. There. He looked as raggedy as she did, but he was right at home on the bed. He liked it, she could tell.

She looked over at Otto with a hopeful smile. She could keep it, right? It didn't take up much room, and it was in the part of the warehouse she normally occupied. It wouldn't be in his way at all.

He glanced at the hopeful-looking Mouse and nodded. Yes, she could keep it. Mo, meanwhile, was still inspecting the faerie. He gave her arm a nudge with his claw, as if testing to make sure she was solid.

"Behave," Otto told the actuator.

Robin lightly tapped the actuator on its head. "Oh, call me Robin. Miss Goodfellow sounds so...formal." And she did not do formal, unless it was for the Court. "Besides, a mortal course in folklore would do you little good. Legends get most things wrong."

She smiled as Mouse grinned broadly and climbed onto the bed. Robin sent out a gentle Glamour, slow sparks swirling over the child in a gentle brief glow. It finished drying her clothes, so that she would be more comfortable to sleep. Mouse looked down at her clothes, and gave Robin a shy smile of thanks.

"I never asked-what are these things of yours anyway?" Robin asked, lightly stroking Mo's head, as she had seen Mouse do to one of the others. "I'm not much good with machines, but these seem special."

Mo clicked softly, then submitted to the petting, murmuring to Otto that she had a knack for it.

"They are actuators," Otto explained, resting a hand on Flo's 'head' as she came up under it. The feminine actuator kept her gaze fixed on Robin, not quite so easily swayed by a bit of petting as her twin. "Intelligent, self-aware machines I designed to allow me to control nuclear fusion experiments. The one you have there is Mo, its twin is Flo, and the others are Larry and Harry." It was almost embarrassing, really, to have to say those names aloud. One did not look at one of these actuators and immediately think of it as a 'Larry'.

Robin cocked her head a little, mulling over what he was saying. "Actuators," she said slowly, tasting the word. She peered at the one under her hand. "Self-aware? Machines that think?"

Whatever was the world coming too? All this technology, sprung up in the last century. It made her head spin. "Come quite a long way from aqueducts and plows, haven't we?" she mulled, shaking her head. They even had names. Strange.

"Indeed we have." Otto's voice held more than a little pride as he petted Flo's 'head'. What wasn't to be proud of? These were his creation, after all. He'd dreamed them, designed them, built them, even taken time away from his nuclear research in order to help program them. They had exceeded every one of their original parameters and now... now they were almost _alive_. "They're smarter than most humans."

Mouse giggled softly as Larry snaked over to her. She had kicked off her boots, snuggling under the blanket on the bed. And the pillows were so soft. Tucking Tonto under one arm, she curled up on her side, so that she could still watch Robin and Otto. She chirped softly at Larry, and petted him.

Mo nudged Robin's hand. _stopped petting why go back to it felt nice_

"And they are worse than cats," Otto added. "Once you start petting them, you really have to distract them if you wish to stop."

Robin laughed. "Amazing. Absolutely amazing." Most of her kind were put off by technology-and for the most part, so was she. But these machines, acting and reacting and _thinking_ as though they were alive...that was simply incredible.

She smiled at Mouse, getting comfy in her new bed. "Well, perhaps I ought to let the two of you get settled for the night." Time for mortals to sleep, but for her to play. She could get into all sorts of trouble in this city. And she intended to.

Mo withdrew with a chirp and returned to curl over Otto's shoulder. Its host nodded.

"Thank you for everything," he said. He hesitated for a moment, then smiled slightly and added, "Robin."

Pretty name. To be perfectly honest, a pretty girl too. Rosie's loss still hurt like a knife in the gut, but Robin _was_ quite lovely.

She smiled, and inclined her head to him. "You are most welcome, Otto Octavius," she said. Walking over to Mouse's bed, she perched on the side for a moment.

"Sleep well, little one," she said. Mouse sat up, and after a moment, reached up to hug the woman. She wasn't how Mouse imagined a fairy godmother would look like, but she was nice, all the same. Robin returned the hug, sending out a light sleep spell. It wouldn't take hold immediately, but in the next few moments. The child needed a good deep healing sleep, after all that she had been through.

When Mouse pulled back, Robin smoothed back some of her hair fondly. Then she patted Tonto on the head, and stood.

"Robin?" Otto said.

She turned to face him. "Yes, Otto?" she asked.

He smiled a little at the name. It had been a while since anyone had just called him Otto.

"Thank you. We'll see you again?"

Robin nodded, a soft smile on her face. "Count on it," she answered. She faded into Shadow, an in-between realm sometimes used for traveling. She could still watch the real world, but it made it easier to access buildings and such. For now, she gave Otto and his Mouse one long last look, before smiling and heading off. She had plans to make.

Mouse snuggled back into her new bed, sleep pulling at her. She watched Otto, and smiled. At least she had someone in this world she could count on. That was something.

Robin faded into thin air, earning only a slight arch of the eyebrows this time. Otto's capacity to be shocked had been pretty much drained over the course of the evening. After a slight nod to the spot where she had stood, he went to Mouse's new bedside and tucked the covers more firmly around her, rather like he recalled his own mother doing.

"Sleep well, Mouse," he murmured, then went back to his desk.

* * *

A/N: Now remember, save a muse, send a review!


	6. Chapter 5: Pancakes are Good

A/N: Hello kiddies in fanfiction land. Glad to see you're still hanging on. And now, notes!

Nikola Tesla and his…personal life choices are mentioned in this chapter. Please note this conclusion is purely the conjecture of the authors having read a Wikipedia article. The only historically true facts you should take from this mention is his close friendship with Mark Twain and his rivalry with Edison. Anything else is probably b.s. (although you should look up some of the youtube videos of people playing Tesla coils. That's pretty cool).

Umm…I think that's it. Oh yeah: shiny illustrations, on deviantArt!

Disclaimer: Marvel owns most of it, we own a teeny tiny part of it, and the faeries belong to themselves. Please don't sue us. We have no money.

And now, please enjoy Chapter 5, in which Otto learns more about the Puck, and Mouse enjoys her pancakes.

* * *

Chapter 5: Pancakes are Good

Mouse lay still in her bed, her eyes closed. She was trying to remember the dream she had been having when she had woken up. All she remembered was her, Otto and Robin, in a home. A proper home, all together and happy. Like a family.

The smell of bacon prompted her to open her eyes. Robin was entering from nowhere, a bag of food in one hand. "Top of the morning to ya, lassie," she said, smiling broadly at Mouse. "I hope you like pancakes."

Robin nodded to Otto, and began setting the food out on an empty bit of table. Mouse slid out from under her covers, pulling on her oversized shoes as she came over and peeked at the food. Pancakes, bacon, eggs...the two plates Robin had brought them had more food on them than she had seen in a long time. She bit her lip and looked to Otto. He had already been up awhile, it looked like, but then, judging from the sunlight, it was already well into the morning. Mouse frowned, looking up at the dust glittering in the sunbeams. Normally she didn't sleep this late.

Robin smiled and lightly smoothed back a little of Mouse's hair. She had waited until the little one had begun to wake before entering, keeping the food warm via air and Glamour. Robin pulled out two cartons of milk for Mouse, and a hot coffee for Otto, and jumped up to sit on a crate while they ate. "Bon appetite, as they say," she said with a smile.

An actuator closed its claws around the mug of coffee and brought it to the tousle-haired scientist. He looked at it with a slight frown.

"Alright," he said at last. It was real coffee- pretty good coffee, actually- and physically there. "How are you doing all this, Robin? How do you just make things appear?"

Robin raised an eyebrow at him. "The food is from a diner up the block. But I can "make things appear" with my Glamour." She held up a hand, letting sparks of green circle it for a few moments. "I suppose it's really...convincing the air that it wants to be something else."

She reached over, and helped Mouse open a syrup container. The child looked to have been struggling, and Robin suspected that it would have erupted all over her clothes had she managed to get it open in its former position. Robin handed it back to her with a wink, and sat back. Mouse smiled at her, and proceeded to dump the syrup over her pancakes. Her eyes were nearly as big as the pancakes themselves.

Convincing the air it was something else... Otto thought he would greatly prefer it if she didn't tell him when she did that. He was much more comfortable with the idea that she was teleporting things from someplace else.

_atomic conversion of atmospheric elements to other substances shouldn't be possible not possible this girl breaks way too many laws of physics_

He stifled a snort of laughter at Flo's and leaned over to help Mouse cut up her pancakes. Mo, meanwhile, gave his 'sister' a look that could be termed a glare and drifted over to Robin, nudging her hand.

"She might not like that," he told the actuator.

Robin shook her head and petted Mo. "I don't mind," she said. She looked at Mouse, who reclaimed her fork from Otto, and took her first bite of pancakes. Robin watched with a grin as Mouse's eyes got impossibly bigger.

"Mmm," she sounded, swaying happily back and forth in her seat. Robin couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm just surprised they're not plotting how to take you to pieces," Otto muttered. "This friendly streak of theirs is new."

_weren't mean were never mean only sought to protect you_

Robin half shrugged at him, and turned her attention back to Mouse. "You like it then?" she asked, as Mouse dug her fork back into the pile. The girl got a huge chunk of pancake with the fork, and shoved it all in her mouth.

Mouse nodded, her mouth stuffed with pancakes. Robin shook her head and opened one of the little cartoons of milk, putting a straw inside. "Careful not to choke," she said, pushing the milk over to the girl.

Otto helped himself to a plate, picking at it the food. As cozy as all this was, as pleasant as it was, there were still issues. Not the least of which was how he was supposed to raise a child, particularly in these surroundings. Hell, they were hardly fitting for him to live in, much less Mouse. What would they do when it got cold? And what happened if, God forbid, Mouse's mother went to the police and renewed their search for him? What if he went out one day and got nabbed? Or killed? What would happen to Mouse then?

Robin shook her head at him. Tapping Mo's head, she leaned back and crossed her legs. "This is a no worry zone, mister," Robin said with a mock stern look. She looked over at Mouse. "Isn't that right, little one?" The child looked at Otto, taking in his expression, and nodded her agreement.

The faerie gave Otto a smile. "It'll sort out," she said confidently.

Absently cutting up a pancake with the edge of his fork, he raised an eyebrow at her. "Oh?" he said dryly, "You read minds now, do you?" Was that how she'd picked out the people who had hurt Mouse last night?

_stay out of our heads do not want you there too much in here too many voices_

Besides, why shouldn't he worry? Someone here had to deal with reality. Mouse was a child, so she wasn't able to—and shouldn't have to. And as for Robin... Otto rather doubted a faerie had the same grasp on reality as a human.

"No," Robin admitted. "Never been much for the mind reading." She cocked her head to one side lazily, studying him. "But you seem like a man who's good with coming up with solutions to problems. The clever sort. And I'm a bit clever myself. Not to mention the magic. I'm sure between the pair of us, we can sort something out."

Mouse finally got down her mouthful of pancakes, and sipped her milk happily. It was still cold. She bounced in her seat, swinging her legs back and forth. This felt right. It was even like her dream.

"I hope so." He sipped at his coffee for a moment. Why was all of this happening now?

Damnit , he was worrying too much. He needed to distract himself before his mind started going in circles. Fortunately, he had a fine distraction sitting right there across from him.

"So, Robin. Can you tell me about yourself?"

Robin shrugged. "What do you want to know? Nothing so special about me." Then she laughed. "Ah hell, I don't do modesty well. Or at all. I'm The Puck of the Seelie Court. One of the most important jobs there is in this world. I serve my lord Oberon and generally...have a good time."

She pulled a ball from her pocket and started tossing it back and forth. "That's about it really. Not that much to tell."

"The Puck, you say." Otto tilted his head slightly as if to get a better view of her. He didn't really need to, however, as Flo was feeding him a far more detailed image than he could ever see on his own. "Is that a title? A position? Rank?"

Oberon. He remembered that name vaguely. He was the king of the faeries, wasn't he?

"What are you doing here in New York? I thought you were more Old World than New."

"It's...complicated. It's sort of a title, and sort of a position. Though, I've held it for so long that it scarcely matters."

Robin reached over and snagged a piece of bacon from Otto's plate. He was mostly pushing the food around anyway. "And this is more of a break than anything permanent. Britannia is wonderful, and I get around Europe. But some of the best cities for fun are in the States. Though, most of it can't compare with the old days. The days of Bacchus and Roman soldiers..." Robin's eyes slid to Mouse, and she shook herself away from the story that came to mind. She munched on the bacon and smirked wickedly to Otto. He was a grown man—let his imagination run with that thought.

_hey that was our bacon how dare you take our bacon_

Flo squawked indignantly as Robin munched on the piece of bacon she'd stolen from Otto's plate.

"Let her have it," he told the actuator. "I wasn't going to eat it anyway. Not particularly hungry." He'd never really been one for breakfast, usually not feeling hungry until later in the day. Coffee, though, coffee was always good.

"How long have you been the Puck?"

"Oh, a long while," Robin said. She shook her head a little, her eyes old. "Such a long time." Then she smiled, and looked at him. "But then, it's not polite to ask a woman her age. Let's just round it off with I remember watching Rome being built and partying in Pompeii."

And such a city that had been...though she tried not to think about being shaken from a lover's arms by the rumbling of a volcano and the screams of terror at her back as she fled the doomed city.

"Very true. My apologies." There was an odd look in her eyes as she spoke of Pompeii. She was probably recalling its destruction. Good God, the history she must know, the things she must have seen. Otto was a scientist and not a historian, but even he was intrigued. Pompeii and Rome... that put her at a couple millenia at the very least.

He rested his elbows on the table, steepling his fingers. "Tell me one more thing, Robin," he said. Pretty name, Robin. Robin Goodfellow. "Do you often assist convicted criminals in avenging wrongs done to abused little girls?"

Robin pursed her lips, as if pondering the question. "Can't say that I do," she said. Then she smiled. "But that's part of why I did it. There are so few new things left in the world. You intrigued me."

She saw Mouse freeze, and put down her fork. Granted the portion of half-eaten pancakes was probably more than enough to fill up the little girl. But it was also possible that Otto's casual use of the word 'abused' had reminded the child of why she was here. If Robin could have, she might have smacked the man over the back of his head.

Robin reached into an inner pocket of her jacket, and pulled out a pad of drawing paper and a box of crayons. She sat it at the girl's elbow, nudging it over. "Noticed your other ones got a bit wet," she said, hoping to distract her.

Larry also caught Mouse's reaction and nudged Otto hard in the shoulder. He grimaced. How was he supposed to have known that word would set her off? He wasn't exactly a child psychologist. Hell, he wasn't any kind of psychologist, apart from a few bits and pieces he'd picked up.

"I'm sorry, Mouse," he said, though he wasn't entirely certain what he was apologizing for. Larry nuzzled her shoulder, making a chittering sound rather like a purr.

Mouse decided to ignore Otto for now, as acknowledging his apology would mean letting what he had said stir in her mind. _Abused_. She wasn't sure of what the word meant, but she could guess. It could mean any number of things. Stupid. Retard. Broken. All of which she was. Why should it be any different if Otto said it than Devon or her mother?

So she patted Larry's head, and picked up her milk and the gift from Robin, and hopped off her chair. She went and sat on a crate near her bed, and opened the drawing pad to a fresh page.

Otto grimaced again. Fantastic. Now she was upset, and he wasn't even entirely certain why, apart from the fact that it was obviously something he said.

"Help, please," he muttered to Robin. "What did I do?"

Robin moved around the table, to speak softer to him. "My guess would be labeling her an 'abused little girl'," she said. "Though I doubt she really knows what that means. She's probably just roped that in with all of the other labels people have put on her. And given her home life, I would bet none of those were particularly good."

Especially with her being mute. She had probably been called some terrible things, by those horrible people. Ah well. May all the torments they had inflicted on others be revisited on them in the afterlife.

She watched Mouse for a few moments, the girl's head bent in fierce concentration. "It might be better not to say anything. Or you might at least want to point out to her that being abused is not something that really has to do with her. It's not something she did. Maybe try to perk up her self esteem a little. Course, that will just take time." But it would happen, so long as she was with someone like Otto, who actually gave a damn.

"Right..." Stupid, stupid doctor.

Otto went to Mouse's side, using the actuators to help him kneel next to her. Probably not a good position to be in- chances were he'd just get stuck, and that would be rather embarrassing in front of Robin- but he stood over six feet when he slouched, and he didn't want to tower over Mouse right now.

"Mouse," he said softly, using the gentlest tone he could manage. "Look at me, please?" He tugged his goggles up over his eyes, squinting a little in pain against the light.

Robin noticed the squint of pain, and twirled a finger, bringing the lights down to a more comfortable level for him. It incredibly welcome. Otto still had to squint a little, but at least he could see without his eyes tearing up. Now he just had to figure out how to explain this to a- how old was she, anyway? Six, maybe seven? Scrawny as she was, it was hard to tell.

Mouse hesitated, but she couldn't refuse Otto. She stopped her coloring, and looked up at him. There was a slightly guarded look in her eye, as though she expected to either be fussed at or worse.

"What did I say that upset you? Was it the 'abused little girl' comment?" He didn't like that guarded look in her eyes, and could have kicked himself for causing it.

Mouse just looked at him. Why was he prodding it? Whatever he had meant, it was probably true. It had been said-the words were out there.

Robin rolled her eyes behind Otto's back. Such a typical adult. Did it matter what had upset her? She was a hurt little girl who had probably never been told that she was worth anything in this world. All of Robin's presents wouldn't mean squat if someone she trusted didn't start telling her that she was better than all she'd been through. Even then, it would be an uphill battle.

But she bit her tongue, and let him continue. Better not to interfere, at this point.

Otto took her hand in his as Larry looped around to nuzzle her cheek. Flo spotted Robin's eyeroll and clicked disparagingly. Otto knew what he was doing. He was just a scientist, checking all the possible alternatives.

"You've done nothing wrong," he said softly. "'Abused' doesn't mean that you're a bad person, Mouse. It just means that people have been hurting you for a long time, because something is wrong with _them_. Not you. You're my clever little Mouse, and those people are never going to hurt you again."

Mouse looked down. Clever? Her? Surely she wasn't clever. She was too stupid to speak and Devon always said so. But then again...he said a lot of things. Maybe Otto was right? He was very smart, after all. She couldn't read or anything, but she did know the best places to scavenge. Maybe she was a little clever.

Mouse peeked up at Otto through her hair. She played with her crayon for a moment, then sat it and the paper aside. Reaching up, she gave him a hug. Mouse was coming to like Otto's hugs.

He hugged her back, kissing the top of her head briefly before pulling back. "That's my Mouse," he said fondly. "Better now?"

She pulled back, and smiled at him. Mouse gave him a little nod, and tucked a bit of hair out of her face.

Robin smiled to herself. Well...there was a surprise. The man knew a thing or two after all.

Mouse started to pick back up her crayons, but then thought better of it. Hopping off the crate, she gathered her bag, double-checking to make sure all of the bottles were inside. She had already lost good time this morning. It was better to try and get to the good spots early, before it got too hot and before anyone else could get there. Maybe she could find Otto some Oreos today.

Larry nuzzled her as she went about getting ready to go out on whatever it was she did- bottle scrounging, wasn't it? It was a rather clever idea for such a young child to come up with.

"Be careful out there," Otto said, pushing a crayon away from the edge of the crate before it could roll off. He didn't mind her going out, so long as she was careful. She still had things to do, routines to keep, and at the end of the day, she'd be back. "Back in before dark, alright?"

Mouse nodded and waved at them, before scooting out of her exit. She knew better than to stay out after dark.

Robin watched her go, a little curious. "Want me to go with her?" she asked Otto. "I can keep out of sight easily enough." She had her qualms over just letting a child out in the city, though clearly Otto didn't.

"She does this every day," Otto said with a slight shrug. "She'll be alright. She's lasted this long, hasn't she? Besides, she'd be both bored and unhappy if I kept her in all the time." He looked after her, sliding his goggles back over his eyes. "Doesn't mean I won't worry about her though."

The actuators clicked among themselves as they helped him back to his feet. Otto grimaced a little as his leg gave a twinge, but he'd certainly felt worse. It just didn't like him getting on the ground.

Robin studied him, and nodded. "True." She debated whether she should hang around, or wander off for a bit. But he intrigued her, and she'd not yet had a chance to talk to him properly, with no little ears around.

"Well then, doctor-how is it that you came to be here? Seems to me anyone half as brilliant as you could make their own way in the world just fine."

He went back to his seat and grimaced, sinking into it. "Them," he replied, gesturing to the actuators.

Robin rolled her eyes, and sat on a crate. "That's not an answer," she said. "Come on...I told you about me. I deserve to know a little about you, don't I? Don't need all the details, but still."

She smiled reassuringly at him. "I'm an excellent listener."

"That was the short answer," he corrected. "I told you I was a scientist. I specialized in nuclear fusion, and that I created the actuators to help me manipulate fusion experiments. I wanted to be able to create a source of clean, renewable energy for the world, and they were to help me with that. They weren't originally designed to be, well, sentient."

_you prefer us this way keep you from getting lonely doing something stupid_ Flo nuzzled his cheek, and he patted the actuator absently. She wanted to know? He'd tell her.

"There was an... an accident, in the lab one day. Something went wrong, and I didn't shut down the reactor. It very nearly went out of control. My wife..." He shuddered at the memory, seeing the flying glass, hearing Rosie scream in mortal terror... "She was killed in the accident, I was hurt, and the actuators... Well, the next thing I know I'm waking up in the hospital. There had been a surgical team trying to remove the harness from where it was fused to me. I say 'had' because by the time I woke up, the actuators had killed everyone else in the room. Things went downhill from there."

Robin blinked at him, taking in what he had said. She didn't understand a lot of what he'd said-nuclear fusion? That was not something that she knew about, as with most scientific things. "Well..." she started, searching for the right words. "Always had my suspicions when it comes to technology." Then she gave him a rueful smile to show that she didn't really mean it.

"I'm sorry about your wife," she offered. She didn't know much about dealing with human grief-that was usually when she headed the other way. But she figured that something needed to be said to acknowledge his loss. Otto nodded in response, continuing to pet the actuator under his hand. The cool metal, which would feel alien to many people, seemed oddly comforting. He'd gotten used to them over the past several months, as he realized there would never be a way to separate himself from them.

"I eventually had to go into hiding and wound up here. That's it, really." Well, there was the bank robbing, the train incident, all that trouble with Spiderman, the second reactor, and the river... but he didn't feel like talking about all that right now.

Robin nodded in response. "And you and Mouse just sort of fell in together? Or do you just go around rescuing little girls for the karmic value of it?"

That drew a short laugh from him. "Something like that," Otto told her."She had apparently been using this place as a hideout before I found it. It was useful for my purposes. I just let her stick around. Though I suppose Doctor Octopus needs all the karmic help he can get."

Robin snorted. "Doctor Octopus. That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard." She fingered her hair absently. "All these costumed idiots running about...it's ridiculous. And you people find the Coliseum barbaric." She lazily tilted her head to one side.

_did she just call us stupid_ Flo raised her head and hissed slightly at the faerie until Otto waved the actuator down. "She didn't mean it like that," he muttered to her. "Settle down."

"It's a good thing you're doing with her. She needs someone she can trust." Robin smiled softly, taking in the man in front of her. "You're a good man, Otto Octavius. Despite all that's happened to you."

_You're a good man, Otto Octavius._ Those words made him freeze in place. Slowly, he looked up at Robin.

"No I'm not," he replied. "I've hurt too many people to be a good man."

Robin pondered that over. "Seems to me we all hurt people in our lives," she said. "If we were judged by how many people we hurt, no one could be called a good person. But that's not what matters. What matters is your attitude towards life in general." She kept her eyes on him, looking thoughtful.

"You said you were trying to create clean energy for the world. In this day and time...that's such an important thing to want. Especially with mortals destroying the earth at an ever increasing rate. And that the actuators killed those doctors-not you. All I've seen from you is that you have enough of a heart to want to avenge a little girl that the rest of the world has forgotten." She shifted her weight a bit, leaning towards him.

"There are a hell of a lot of people in this world who would have never done a thing for her, because it made them uncomfortable. People don't see what they don't want to see, and they don't want to see that child and the position she was in. You saw her. A bad man wouldn't have."

He sat there for a long moment, petting Flo. Perhaps Robin had a point. That didn't stop him from hearing screams in his dreams. First it had just been Rosie's screams, and those of the doctors. Then there had been screams of so many others, from his rampage as Doctor Octopus. He'd hurt a lot of people in the last year. And last night, he'd heard screams from the junkies he'd killed, no matter that they'd had it coming to them.

But if those men had continued to hurt Mouse... he would have heard her screams too. Mournful, silent screams of a child whose voice had been scared away from her. There was no doubt in his mind that that would have been even worse.

"I suppose," he said at length.

Robin smiled brightly, in true puck fashion. Her expression said 'see, of course I'm right.' "Besides, I've been around for quite awhile, Doctor Octavius," she said, sliding off of her crate and coming around the table.

She came around to his side, as close to him as she thought the actuators would let her get. "I know a good man when I see one."

The actuators pulled back from her, watching curiously. Was she up to something? They rather hoped she wasn't going to make them disappear again. That had not been fun. She wasn't showing any obvious signs of malice, though. But she was very old, and quite probably a good actress...

"Relax," Otto muttered to them. "If she was going to hurt us she would have done so a long time ago."

Robin watched the actuators with a curious tilt of her head. "Do they talk to you?" she asked, her brain jumping tracks. "How is it exactly that machines think anyway?"

_yes of course we talk what does she think we are_

"_Hush_," Otto told them, shaking his head. "Yes, they do speak to me. They have some incredibly advanced artificial intelligence programming. You see, an organism's brain is nothing more than a computer of almost incalculable complexity, with neurons that link to and signal each other. Those signals are thoughts, or commands to other parts of the body. What I did was create a program that mimics the processes that occur billions of times a second in a living brain. Now, I did not intend for them to be sentient, originally. They were designed to be semi-autonomous while linked to my mental control. Basically what I would do before the accident was give them an order- say, move to the left- and their own programming would direct the motors to move them in that direction, but the programming would figure out how to do that by itself. Rather more like how a real octopus controls its limbs than a human does.

"As to how they think... I really don't know. Somehow, the electric shock we received during the accident triggered some sort of sentient intelligence to form in them. I haven't the faintest idea how. They've been self-aware ever since."

Robin blinked, and straightened. She looked very confused for a few moments, then she shook her head. "Umm...alright." She was starting to regret asking the question. Especially since she hadn't understood half the answer.

Otto shook his head, smiling wryly. She didn't understand a word he'd said, evidently. Normally this would irritate him, but somehow he couldn't be annoyed when she was the one confused. After all, what could a faerie know about science? "They're smart because I made them that way," he explained. "They're intelligent because an accident made them that way. Is that better?"

Robin smiled ruefully. "I suppose. Sorry, but my scientific knowledge is about as varied as yours is of folklore. Probably less, actually. Nonetheless, they are very impressive." She had known several scientists over the years, but as a general rule, they bored her.

"I would say right on up there with Tesla's earthquake machine. Granted, that man was mad as a hatter, but he made some amazingly cool toys."

"Ah, Nikola Tesla." Otto grinned, leaning back in his seat and surveying the faerie. "I used to make Tesla coils for fun. And for science fairs. While other students were making volcanoes and bottle rockets and ant farms, I was playing tunes with electrical arc generators. Brilliant man, Tesla."

Robin nodded. "Incredibly brilliant. Like I said though-completely mad, and paranoid to boot. Not to mention as homosexual as one could get. It wasn't fashionable in those days though, so he simply claimed celibacy helped his scientific abilities." She snorted, shaking her head.

"Had a nice little affair with Mark Twain. Edison too, which was probably why they had such a nasty falling out. He was quite the showman though. And I do love a good show."

The way she spoke so casually of some of the greatest minds in recent history was astounding. She spoke as if she'd actually known them. Had she?

"I see," he replied. Tesla wasn't the only scientist to be both mad and paranoid- the same could be said for plenty of scientists these days.

_something to be said for celibacy fewer distractions_

"Yeah," Robin said, twirling a finger around a ball of wire. "What are you doing with all this anyway? Are you a mad scientist in your own right?"

Flo chittered and neatly plucked the wire away from her. _don't touch we don't let mouse touch why let you touch no don't_

"She wasn't hurting anything," Otto muttered to the actuator.

_faerie not human bizarre energy field being emitted don't want it to mess up computers_

"She doesn't affect you."

_we're special_

Otto sighed. "If a man who talks to the voices in his head is mad, then yes. Even if the voices are from four artificially intelligent mechanical tentacles fused to his back. Actually, probably even more so."

Robin thought about that. "Don't suppose it can be madness if the voices are real," she said. "And hell, I have my own voices to deal with." Well, really only the one, but still. All faeries within a Court were telepathically linked to some extent. And they had other ways of detecting each other.

"And if I've ever been accused of anything, it's being mad. I know madness well. I don't think you're quite there yet." She gave him a friendly wink-more in jest than flirting. She had a feeling he wasn't ready for that yet.

"You hear voices?" he asked curiously. He'd rather liked it when she winked at him, though the sensation was a little painful. "Who?"

Robin shrugged. "It's complicated. I'm connected to my lord...suppose you might think of it as a sort of...mental link. When it's completely open, we feel what the other feels. It's kept mostly closed most of the time. But there's a certain amount of connection between all faeries among a Court. I can find pretty much any of the higher fey I want at any given time."

Of course, her connection to Oberon was so much more than just a voice in her head. He could inflict all sorts of damage along that link if he wanted to. Fortunately for her, he rarely wanted to.

"Interesting." He was connected to the actuators, but what was it like to be linked to other living people? It seemed rather unnerving to him. Why would you want other people in your head like that? At least the actuators were alien enough to be perversely comfortable. "Are there many higher fey?"

Robin shrugged. "Yeah, there are. Most of whom don't like me, so I really only worry about my lord and lady. And a rare few others."

Speaking of her lord...Robin rubbed her forehead as a flare of annoyed pain singed behind her eyes. Oberon had been prodding her for over an hour. She had ignored him, and he was getting pissed with her.

"Speaking of my master..." she said, sounding a bit weary, "I think I'll need to go." She gave him a shrug. "I'll pop back by later. Maybe not today, but tomorrow."

He didn't _want_ her to go. But who was he to try to convince her to stay against her master's wishes?

"Tomorrow then," he said reluctantly. "We'll be waiting."

Robin smiled at him, and lightly ran a hand down his arm in farewell. "Sorry. Is there anything you'd like me to bring you when I come back? Being in hiding, must be something that you're missing."

His skin seemed to tingle as she ran her hand down his arm, and all the actuators snapped around to look at her. How was she doing that? Their memories indicated the only person who made Otto feel that way when they touched him was Rosie. She was not Rosie. They liked her, but she was not Rosie. Why should she make him feel like that?

"Ah..." He scrambled to think, get his mind back on track. "If it's not too much to ask... Oreos, and maybe some decent coffee? And... I don't know what Mouse might like."

Robin smiled. "Coffee and Oreos. Check. And I'll think of something for Mouse. I have a few ideas already."

She inclined her head to him, in a show of respect. Then she turned and vanished. Time to appease the master, then she would pick up some goodies for her new friends.

Otto watched her vanish. The actuators did as well, though they watched through different spectra to try and figure out how she did it. Nothing they saw told them much of anything. She just disappeared. Incredible.

_strange one this robin_

"Very strange," he agreed. And oddly fascinating.

_not rosie_

No, she wasn't Rosie. Rosie was dead, and a part of him with her. He'd never get that back.

Otto sighed and raised his goggles to rub the bridge of his nose. He did not want to think about that electric touch. He did not want to think about that impish smile. He did not want to think about her.

The memory of the Puck was not so easily shaken.


	7. Chapter 6: Hopscotch Romance

Disclaimer: Marvel owns most of it, I own a little, and the faeries own themselves.

In which Mouse learns hopscotch, and something interesting happens to Otto.

* * *

Chapter 6: Hopscotch Romance

Mouse bit her lip as she finished her latest drawing. She was enjoying the crayons...they were shiny and new, and they weren't just the nubs she usually used, when she found crayons. She had about worn out the ones that Otto had given her, so Robin's gift was most welcome. With a smile, she tore the paper out of the pad, and hopped off her crate. She went over and hesitantly sat the drawing next to Otto's arm, and stepped back with a shy smile.

There was motion out of the corner of her eye, and she turned to see Robin striding towards them with a smile. "Ahoy ahoy," Robin said with a smile. There was a woven bag in one of her hands, which she sat on Otto's table. She pulled out a large thermos. "Real coffee, as requested," she said, winking at Otto. Then she pulled out a bag of Oreos, and her personal favorite find-a mug with "Evil Genius" printed on it.

_she thinks she's funny at least she knows one when she sees one are we still evil_

Otto laughed and picked up the mug. Really, the saying was very apt. "Thank you, Robin," he told her. He'd put up with all sorts of evil genius remarks if it meant he got coffee and Oreos. And this mug wasn't chipped, like the one he currently used. He was always afraid it would crack under thermal stress if he didn't nurse the thing up to temperature. "Now what's this?"

Setting the mug aside for Mo to fill, he looked at the picture Mouse had left by his elbow. It was typically childish work in bright crayon, showing a man with four snakey things coming out from behind him, a little girl, and a faerie, complete with wings and a star-topped wand, all on a hillside under a bright sun. All three figures were smiling.

"This is very nice, Mouse," he said.

Mouse smiled broadly, and looked up at Robin as the woman leaned over to look at the picture. "What's that supposed to be?" she asked, nodding to the winged figure. She looked at Mouse with a raised eyebrow. "Is that me? Well, I suppose the likeness could be worse. Although I don't have wings of any sort. Not many faeries do, actually. And the ones that do, you're better off staying away from. Likely they'll try to eat you."

Mouse blinked at her. Robin just smiled, and pulled one last thing out of her bag, which vanished instantly. It was a container of sidewalk chalk. "Thought we'd have a little fun," Robin said with a grin. There was a good bit of concrete surrounding the old warehouse, and they could play without being too obvious.

"_Eat_ you?" Otto repeated. "Are you serious? And are you sure that's a good idea? What if someone sees you two out there?" He got to his feet, new coffee cup carefully held in Moe's pincers. This was New York, for God's sake. People were everywhere. It would be just his luck for some celebrity-stalking paparazzo with a telephoto lens to get a picture with them in the background.

Robin looked at him, hands on her hips. "Yes, there are breeds of faeries that would eat you. And you're alright with a little girl going out and about the city on her own, but not going outside and drawing on the sidewalk?" She gave him an incredulous look.

"Besides, I can keep us from being seen easily enough. Little sprinkle of pixie dust, and we'll be good as ghosts." Not that there was such a thing as pixie dust-and pixies were actually one of those breeds that would just as happily eat you-but she wasn't going to spoil all of Mouse's childhood visions.

Mouse looked at Otto hopefully. She was good at not being seen. And she'd never gotten to draw with sidewalk chalk before. Eying the box, she looked at the thick pieces of chalk, and wondered what Robin had in mind for them.

Oh God. Save him from little girls with big, pleading brown eyes. Actually, big pleading eyes of any color- Rosie had used her gray ones to devastating effect on occasion.

"Mouse knows how to go in and out without being seen," Otto said. "There's a difference between going from point A to point B and staying out in the open for extended periods of time." He shook his head. "You're sure you can keep everyone hidden?"

Robin rolled her eyes. "Of course I can," she said. Really, it was an insult he thought otherwise. "You don't see me all the time, do you? Invisibility is easy. It barely even qualifies as a proper illusion."

She winked at Mouse. "What do you think, sweetheart? Want to have some fun?"

Mouse lightly traced a finger over the rim of the box of chalk, and nodded. She looked up at Otto again. She didn't want to go without his okay.

He sighed and nodded. "Alright," he told them. "Go on then."

They might as well go outside and enjoy what was probably one of the last nice days of the season. New York would turn inhospitable soon enough once winter arrived.

Mouse hopped up and down, giving him a brief hug before seizing the box of chalk. Robin gave Otto a smile and patted his shoulder before following the girl outside.

It was a nice day. It was late in the afternoon, but still relatively warm out. A light breeze was blowing in the scent of fall. Robin looked over the vacant lot that surrounded the warehouse, and cocked her head as she studied it. Readying the Glamour in her mind, she looked down and winked at Mouse.

Green sparks shot from her hands, causing weeds to shrivel up and broken concrete to become whole. The Glamour stopped at the boundary of the property, flashing once as it created a sort of shield. To anyone passing by, the place would appear as it always did-abandoned and broken down. No one would see the souls playing within.

"Now then," Robin said, clapping her hands and rubbing them together. Mouse was staring wide-eyed at the magic around her. The faerie took the box of chalk from her, removed a piece, and set to work drawing out a hopscotch board. "How about a game?"

_that is very unsettling wish she wouldn't do that breaking all the laws of physics_

"Will you lot be quiet?"

Otto hung back by the wall of the warehouse, watching the two females. Mouse looked so happy, a far cry from the frightened child he'd known.

Something occurred to him.

"You never said," he called to Robin. "What kind of faerie are you anyway?"

Robin looked over her shoulder at him, squatted on the ground. "Thought you knew the play," she said with a smirk. "I'm a hobgoblin, technically. Though that's not saying much." After all, she hardly acted like a normal hobgoblin. And thank the gods for that, otherwise she would have ripped these two apart by now.

Otto frowned. A hobgoblin. That didn't sound particularly... good. Quite the opposite, actually. She seemed nice enough though...

The faerie straightened, examined her work, and nodded. She handed a small rock to Mouse, who looked at it, a little confused. She'd seen children play this game, but was unsure of how it went. Robin smiled and tossed a rock of her own in the air, catching it one-handed.

"Like this," she said, and tossed her rock onto a square. With ease, she hopped on one foot through the squares, turned, and bent to pick up her rock on the way back. Landing next to Mouse, she nodded encouragingly for the girl to go ahead.

He stood there, watching them at play. Mouse seemed to grasp the concept of the game relatively quickly and was soon hopping back and forth with Robin. Otto himself had never understood the point of this game. He'd seen girls play it often enough in grade school, but he'd never been able to figure out why they thought it so fascinating.

Robin traded off turns with Mouse, watching the little girl's smile grow broader as she increased her speed. She had good balance, for a child of her age. She barely even wobbled bending over to pick up her rock. Robin wished that they had a third so that she could teach her to jump rope. Somehow she doubted Otto would be up for the task.

She turned to look at the man, seemingly standing guard by the building. "Want a turn, Octavius?" she called with a playful smirk.

If he'd been wearing sunglasses, he would have given her a Look over their rims. But it was too bright for him to risk sunglasses, so he was wearing his usual goggles. He still managed a raised eyebrow.

"Do I look like I can hop, Goodfellow?" he retorted, his tone very dry.

Robin shrugged, looking perfectly innocent. "Just thought I'd offer," she said. Leaning over to Mouse, she whispered, "grumpy guss." Mouse bit back a smile.

After a little while, Mouse got bored with the game. She sat on the ground, pulling out the different colored chalks with care. It was getting darker, and the temperature was dropping, but she didn't care. On her hands and knees, she started drawing in long lines and swirls, smiling at the feel of the chalk and texture of it against the concrete.

Robin went over and leaned against the wall next to Otto. "Not too shabby for a day's work," she mulled.

"Not too shabby indeed," he replied quietly. The actuators chittered their agreement. Larry liked seeing his Mouse so happy, and had even drifted over to her and picked up a stick of chalk to draw with as well. His lines were sharper than hers, more mathematically precise.

Otto smiled to watch them as the shadows began to grow long. "Thank you, Robin," he said. "For all of this."

Robin looked over at him and smiled softly. "You're most welcome," she answered. She watched him for a long moment. Reaching over, she cupped the side of his face gently. Her touch was light, but warm. Moving slowly, so not to spook him or his machines, she stepped a bit closer, and lifted the goggles up to rest on his head. She wanted to see his face properly, without the large dark lenses filling half his face.

His eyes were shut against the light, and Robin smiled as she lightly traced her fingers down his jawline. Leaning up, she planted a soft kiss on his lips.

Mouse had her back to the grown-ups, ever more entranced with the lines and colors. Her lines crossed with Larry's forming a strange silent symphony of colors and lines along the concrete. Even here, in the city, it seemed all was quiet except for the sound of chalk scraping across the ground.

He didn't mind having her that close. Really, he didn't. But when she reached up to touch his face, he froze. It was a nice touch, and he wasn't expecting it. The actuators froze around him, wary, waiting to see what she did next.

She pulled up the goggles, and he hurriedly shut his eyes to avoid the light. God, he wished he wasn't so sensitive to it. He hadn't always been, after all. But he'd made the mistake of removing his goggles when the reactor had gone out of control, and the light and energy from it had seared his retinas, doing permanent damage and making them painfully sensitive to light.

Soft lips against his, capturing them in a kiss. Otto jerked back as if he'd been electrocuted- again- eyes flying open automatically. He yelped with pain and fumbled to get his goggles back in place. "Robin! What-?"

Well...most men didn't usually react to her kisses quite like _that_. She hadn't meant anything by it really...but he was handsome and she was a faerie and this was the direction that most of her relationships with mortals tended to take.

"Sorry," she said softly, swiftly moving back a few feet. She caught Mouse looking at them, startled by Otto's exclamation. Robin felt a little embarrassed, though she wasn't sure why. She wasn't even sure what she was apologizing for.

Closing her own eyes, she wrapped a bit of invisibility around herself, though she stayed frozen in place. She wanted to help make Otto not be so sad and serious anymore. Apparently the kiss had not been the way to go.

Mouse started to get to her feet, frowning as Robin blinked out of view. She cocked her head a little, confused, and looked at Larry. What had happened?

Otto didn't know if he wanted her kissing him or not- he had actually liked it, but Rosie was still painfully fresh in his mind, and kissing Robin seemed disloyal to her- but he didn't want her to leave... did he? No. No. He didn't.

"Robin?" he said, staring at the space where she'd been. "No, please, I didn't mean it like that- you just- oh God."

Robin hesitated, then brought herself back into view. Shoving her hands into her back pockets, she avoided looking at him, parts of wavy brown hair hanging into her face.

"Just didn't like seeing you so...serious," she said softly. "You've had that same look on your face since I met you. Thought you could use something for you."

She turned her head, glancing in Mouse's direction, without really seeing the child. Robin had been around a long time. She knew when a man was attracted to her. In her mind, this had been the right move. Clearly though, those strange rules of human grief were interfering.

"I... well... thank you, I suppose..." he said hesitantly. The eyes behind the heavy goggles were confused as he stumbled over himself. "Robin, really, I.. it's not that you're not lovely, it's not, honestly, you are... I just... I can't. Not now..."

He felt Flo nuzzle his hot cheek as Mo gave a mournful little chirp, Harry hanging back silently.

The faerie nodded, shuffling her feet. "I understand. It's alright." It wasn't, not really, but Mouse was coming over to them and what else was she supposed to say to him.

Mouse had gathered up her chalks, coming over to the grown-ups with a concerned frown. She went to Otto, looking at Robin almost suspiciously, wondering what the nice faerie woman had done wrong.

The scientist tried not to wince. Great. Now Mouse had come to see what was wrong. One more complication, one more set of variables in an already muddled equation.

"Mouse, please," Otto said, almost begging. "Go inside. Please."

Larry chirped and gave her a gentle nudge in that direction. Mouse's look of concern deepened into an outright frown, as she looked from one adult to the other. She felt the words rising in her throat, but forced them down again. It would sound mean, and she didn't want to speak to them in that way. Better to stay silent.

She did as she was told, and went inside. Robin kept avoiding Otto's face, stepping back a little further. "I should just go," she said.

"I-" _I don't want you to go._

The words died as he saw an image of Rosie's face in his mind. What would she say if she saw this? How could he be doing this, letting Robin kiss him? It wasn't right...

Mo nudged her hand, clicking sadly. Otto just stood there, looking at the pretty faerie and hating himself for making her upset.

Robin looked up, almost as though she knew what he had wanted to say. She gave him a soft smile.

"I can't pretend to understand human grief," she said quietly. "And I am sorry if I...if I upset you." She fidgeted, then finally crossed over to him and kissed his cheek. Just a friendly gesture, an apology. Mortals in Europe kissed each other on the cheek all the time.

"I'll go grab you and Mouse some dinner. Back in a flash." With that, she stepped back and was gone. Better to give him a few moments to collect himself. Then she would return and act as though nothing had happened.

He nodded as she disappeared and drew back inside. He liked Robin well enough, and she was a remarkable kisser, but... he couldn't. Not now. At least she wasn't upset with him. That was something, at least.

The actuators were uncharacteristically silent, leaving him to think.

Mouse looked up as Otto came into the warehouse alone. She had perched herself on a crate, refusing to even look at her bed in case they were mad at Robin. If that was the case, then she wanted nothing to do with them.

But Otto didn't look mad, so much as...she was really sure. Sad, maybe? Mouse hopped off her crate and went over to him, giving him a small hug. It would be okay. They didn't need some silly faerie anyway.

Otto didn't think he'd ever been gladder for Mouse's presence than at that moment. He hugged the little girl tightly, the actuators curling around her for a moment.

"It's okay, Mouse," he said. "Robin just... reminded me of someone I lost. Someone I loved very much."

Mouse frowned, but gave Otto an extra squeeze before letting go. He seemed to need it. She tried to think of a way to cheer him up. Mouse didn't like seeing Otto sad.

She looked at the dying light, trying to gauge how much time they had before dark. If they hurried...yes, if they hurried, they might have enough time. She tugged on his hands, leading him back outside. If he could follow her from the roofs, she had something to show him.

Otto looked down at her in puzzlement, but followed. "Where are we going, Mouse?" he asked. He didn't expect her to answer, of course, but the question bore asking. "Why are we going outside?"

Mouse just tugged him along, until they were outside. Then she let go of his hand, and continued on her path, stopping a few feet away and looking back at him to make sure he was still following her. Once he had started climbing the building, she smiled, and kept going.

She had found the little junkyard a few months before the warehouse. It had made a neat hideout in the spring, before it had gotten too hot. It was only a scrap pile, but there were lots of mechanical things there that she thought Otto might could use. Most of them were just too big for her to carry the few blocks to the warehouse.

Mouse slid through a hold in the fence, and looked back to make sure Otto was still with her. She had seen him on the rooftops-or at least glimpses of him. Now she smiled, and headed over to the place where she had dragged some of the most intact mechanical bits. The ones that looked the most like what Otto used, and the most salvageable. She had been coming here every few days, and shifting through things. Mouse knew that she couldn't carry most of what was here, so she had been planning to bring Otto here for awhile. She had just wanted to make sure that there was something to show for it, and not just lead him into a random scrap heap.

Once Otto was on the ground again, she went over and took his hand, to lead him through the piles of junk. They stopped at a noticeably smaller pile, and she dropped his hand. Mouse just stood there with a smile, waiting. Maybe this would cheer Otto up.

She'd complied the raw materials for dozens of projects. How had she done it? There were hundreds of bits and pieces he could refurbish and restore for his work. This was absolutely incredible.

"You found all this?" he asked, picking up a circuit board. "Mouse, this is wonderful."

Mouse grinned broadly, and started pulling some of the smaller pieces into her bag. She was glad he could use the things...she'd been afraid she was only gathering useless parts.

And there were more parts in the junkyard...maybe if she could get him to draw a picture of some things that he needed, she could find them for him. She was good at finding things.

Otto helped her, picking out parts that would be the easiest to fix up. This was great- he recognized all sorts of useful bits in here, and if he got them from here, it would be easier to stay off the radar than if he had to get them himself.

They didn't take much to start with. Otto wanted to begin with just a little while he finished getting himself and Mouse into some form of a routine. Once they were finished, Larry curled around her waist.

"Want to come with me?" Otto asked, gesturing at the nearest building. "It will be faster. It's fun too."

Mouse bit her lip and nodded. Her eyes were bright with the sort of fearful excitement that comes before riding a roller coaster. She gripped her bag tightly, and gently stroked Larry for a little reassurance. This was Otto, after all-he wouldn't let anything happen to her.

He picked her up and held her tightly- she was a tiny little thing, it wasn't even hard with his bad leg. "You're safe with me," he said.

The actuators took them up the wall, shifting easily from one hold to the next. This was a smoother trip than they usually made, out of concern for their new passenger.

Mouse closed her eyes and clutched onto Otto's coat tightly. For the first few minutes anyway. Then she opened her eyes and peeked down. She had never been up so high before.

She was so fascinated that she forgot to be afraid. The streets looked so different up here. She twisted as far as she could, craning her head to see as much as she could. The air was getting colder, but she felt warm next to Otto.

They came down by the warehouse, Otto continuing to carry Mouse until they were inside. It was just dark enough now to make walking across the open expanse of concrete a little hazardous, and it was faster to carry her anyway.

Robin was there when they arrived, with pizza boxes this time. Otto didn't look directly at her- he wasn't sure if he wanted to. Instead, he set Mouse on her feet.

"Was that fun?" he asked her.

Mouse stayed close to Otto's legs as she regained her balance. "Wow," she breathed. The word was barely more than a whisper, and it slipped out of her so fast that she had barely registered that she had spoken. But that had been the most fun she'd ever had.

Robin's head shot up, her supernaturally sharp hearing catching the word even from several feet away. She smiled, and continued setting out the two pizza boxes. Real progress at last, it seemed.

Larry trilled happily, re-playing the sound clip of Mouse saying 'Wow' for Otto as he'd missed it in the clank of the actuators. Hearing it, Otto grinned.

"Wow," he agreed, patting her shoulder. "That's one of the good things about this lot- I get to travel like that whenever I want. Go wash up so you can eat."

Mouse gave Otto a happy hug, and skipped over to the sink to wash her hands. She dropped her bag by Otto's table and scrubbed the dirt off her hands in the slightly brown water from the tap. Drying them off on her clothes, she came back over to the table, giving Robin a cautious look. She didn't want the woman making Otto sad again.

Robin looked at Mouse, putting a piece of cheese pizza on a plate for the child. The faerie had noticed how Otto was avoiding looking at her, and hesitated. "Would you rather I go?" she asked Otto softly, who was pulling bits of things out of his pockets.

He looked up at her, in the middle of drawing some circuitry and LEDs from his pockets.

"I- no, I... I don't know. Not really..." He glanced over at Mouse, who was giggling a little as she bit into her pizza and drew away from it trailing strings of gooey cheese. If at all possible, he didn't want to discuss this in front of Mouse. She would just get upset.

Robin followed his gaze and nodded. She finished pouring a glass of soda and sat it in front of Mouse, then gestured over to a more isolated spot of the warehouse.

When Otto followed her over, she turned to face him, hands in her back pockets. "Look. If you want me to go, I'll go. You never have to see me again if you don't want. But if you want me to stay, I'm more than willing to forget anything ever happened. I'm sorry I made you uncomfortable. So whatever you want, I'm fine with it."

Otto couldn't help but notice her graceful lines, flowing from shoulder to arm to hip and on down. She was a very pretty thing- but shouldn't that be expected of a faerie? Weren't they supposed to be pretty?

Damnit all. He wasn't unhappy because she'd kissed him. He was unhappy because he felt guilty about wanting her to kiss him _again_.

"No," he said at last. "Robin, I... I don't want you to go."

Robin nodded once, the decision made. "Right. Okay then. Best get you some pizza before it gets cold." She turned and started back towards the table. The Puck was going to ignore the guilty desire lurking in his eyes.

Patting Mouse's head, who was eagerly making headway on her pizza. "Not bad, eh? Course, this is nothing like real pizza. The Italians make a much simpler version. Not as much cheese. But this is pretty good, even if it is all American." Robin made a face at Mouse and pulled out a piece for her herself, leaning back onto a crate. She looked over at Otto, waiting to see if the mortal would attempt to put their mishap behind him.

_you want her_

The accusing voice stopped him dead in his tracks. Flo looped around to look at him. Otto had to squint simultaneously against the scarlet glow of the actuator's heartlight and against the always disorienting feedback image of himself that she fed to him.

_you want her shouldn't want her not Rosie_

The actuators were definitely learning, if they'd managed to pick up the human concepts of both desire and fidelity. Otto flinched a little at her words. Unfortunately, she was right. Robin was beautiful, with a mild exoticness that was very attractive. And she was clever, vivacious, and probably most important of all, not afraid of the actuators. Could Rosie have known all he'd done and still look at him with love in her eyes?

"We'll discuss it later," he muttered, seeing that Robin was watching them. Flo clicked disapprovingly and withdrew as he went to the crate that served them as a table. Mo, on the other hand, seemed to completely disregard his twin's distaste and went to curl around the faerie's shoulders, chirping a greeting. Larry shifted closer to Mouse, intrigued by the concept of 'pizza' as an energy source, while Harry, silent as always, helped Otto along. Otto sat on a nearby crate and picked at the slice Flo brought him.

Mouse bounced back and forth as she grabbed an escaping bit of cheese. Tilting her head back, she gobbled it off her finger, smiling broadly. Pizza was good. She liked pizza.

The girl made happy noises of contentment, munching on the pizza. Her delight in the food distracted her from the awkwardness between the adults, at least through her first slice. By the time she reached for her drink, she was realizing that Otto was shifting about uncomfortably.

This made her pause, and she fixed a steely glare on Robin. She put her pizza down, and crossed her arms across her chest. The woman wasn't going to win her over with food if she was going to make Otto upset.

Robin looked at the child, who was now glaring daggers at her. "What's with you?" she asked. "Is it not good?"

Mouse looked in Otto's direction, then back at Robin, her scowl increasing. She'd gone to all that trouble to cheer Otto up, and the faerie had ruined it. Robin rolled her eyes. "Great. Now a six year old is scolding me." Mouse glared harder, and flashed seven fingers up. She was no six year old. She was seven, and that was far more intimidating.

Robin rolled her eyes and looked back at Mouse. "I said I was sorry. If he's moping, it's his own fault."

As if he didn't have enough to think about, now they were arguing. Flo was ticked at him, Mo was sucking up to Robin, Larry was siding with Mouse, and now Robin and Mouse were annoyed. The voices in his head were bad enough when they weren't taking sides.

Start with the easiest problem first.

"Mouse, please," Otto said, closing his eyes briefly to try and find a little patience. If he snapped at her she'd probably never trust him again. "It's not Robin's fault, it's mine, understand?" She might not, but he didn't want to risk accidentally treating her as stupid. Otto gestured to the actuators. "Mine and theirs. Let Robin be and eat your pizza."

Mouse gave Robin one last glare, and picked her pizza back up. Grown-ups were stupid. They were complicated and she didn't understand them, but they danced around each other and didn't just come out with what they thought. Even she could see that. She might not talk, but she usually made her feelings clear.

Robin sighed, muttering to herself in Greek. Really...why was she wasting her time here? Oberon was already losing his patience with her. Why wasn't she leaving these mortals in her dust to care for each other? And maybe find a man or woman or group thereof who would appreciate her kisses?

Yet here she was. The gods only knew why, but for some reason she was not leaving.

Mo chirped and nuzzled the faerie's shoulder, pausing only once to snap at a rather disapproving Flo. Otto glared at the pair of them.

"Stop that," he growled. "I need to live with you lot in my head as it is. I don't need you arguing." He bore down on their presences with his mind, something he hadn't had to do since... Well, not since Pier 56. He felt them quaver beneath his will, then all four drew back behind him.

Sighing, he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Thank you for dinner, Robin," he said. "I'm afraid I find myself not very hungry." He slid his piece back into the box, intending to have it for breakfast. He was actually rather fond of cold pizza, the result of many late nights in the lab. Getting to his feet, he limped off to the corner that was his 'room', barricaded off by carefully stacked crates and equipment.

Mouse and Robin exchanged a look. The child clearly still blamed Robin, giving her a glare. Robin held up her hands in surrender.  
"Fine. I'm a bad, mean faerie. It's all my fault. It usually is." With a sigh, Robin stood, and dusted her hands. Screw it. She'd had enough of this game.

She patted Mouse's head, if only to remind the child that she harbored her no ill will. The Puck was highly tempted to send the girl into a deep sleep, both to give Otto the night free of worry and so that the memory of her would have faded by morning. But she didn't, because for some reason she didn't want Otto to look in on Mouse and think that she had done something bad to her. The gods only knew why, but she didn't want him thinking bad of her.

Robin headed off, fading from sight and heading at near-top speed into the city. She needed a party, and she needed it now.


	8. Chapter 7: Samhein

A/N: Might as well warn you now, this story will have several mild crossovers before all is said and done. The first of which (unless you count _A Midsummer Night's Dream_) is seen here. If you're familiar with the Cal Leandros books (by the amazing Rob Thurman—I highly recommend them) Ninth Circle and Ishiah make an appearance here. You'll see other characters later on.

Disclaimer: We still don't own anything but our own characters, which are pretty limited. Everything else belongs to Marvel, or Rob Thurman, or themselves.

Be sure to check out the artwork on deviantArt. My co-author is doing a brilliant job with it.

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Chapter 7: This is Halloween

He felt a bit guilty for leaving Mouse on her own tonight, on Halloween, but she hadn't seemed interested in going out and she had seemed intrigued by the new picture books he'd found for her. Among the titles had been the companions to her 'If You Give a Mouse a Cookie' book- "If You Give a Pig a Pancake' and 'If You Give a Moose a Muffin'. Otto had made her promise not to leave while he was gone and left, heading to a place that had once been his home.

He'd made the journey back to his old apartment once before tonight, at last Halloween. Somehow, the night seemed more appropriate for a visit than the anniversary of Rosie's death. Now he looked around the ruined rooms, still torn apart inside. The living quarters were mostly untouched, though dust had settled and some damp had gotten in. The lab, though, was a complete mess, twisted metal wreckage strewn everywhere. Otto avoided that area and instead settled at the old table, head in his hands. The actuators curled around him, for once silent. They knew he was missing Rosie.

By the gods, she loved Samhein. It was by far The Puck's favorite night of the year. The air was electric with energy from the Other Realms. It was like rare wine in her blood. Of course, there was plenty of wine flowing there too, but that was beside the point.

The Seelie Court had done its March, and though Robin wasn't sure why she was doing it, she was back in New York City. She hadn't been back since leaving the warehouse, but she told herself that she was merely taking advantage of the time difference to make the night last longer. Robin was not going to swing by Hell's Kitchen, no matter how strong the temptation. She told herself that the pair of mortals were just fine, and besides, the night was only so young, and she had a few new clubs to try.

Then his scent hit her nose, causing her to stumble over herself on a rooftop. Skidding to a stop, she sniffed, even though she knew it was his. Only Otto Octavius had that strange scent, that mixture of flesh and metal. For a moment she paused, debating what to do. Robin wasn't sure why Otto would have this far from the warehouse. He didn't have Mouse with him, from the smell of it. Could something have happened to the child?

Finally, The Puck's curiosity got the better of her. She sighed, and headed in the direction of the scent. She would just pop in on him, make sure everything was alright, and be on her way. Simple as that.

Her search ended at a burned out building. With a frown, she slid up the balcony, still invisible from sight. She stared at the man, sitting forlorn at the table. The living quarters spoke of two people living there. There was the faint scent of a woman mixed with Otto's. And something else in the air as well. Robin felt her skin prickle, then slid into sight.

"Everything alright?" she asked softly.

He jerked upright, actuators squawking and preparing for defense against an intruder. When they recognized Robin, however, they relaxed. Robin may or may not be welcome, but they had come to the consensus that she would probably not try to hurt them. Surely anyone who was as nice to Mouse as she wasn't a threat. Apart, of course, from the whole 'make them disappear' thing'.

Otto blinked at her- it was fairly dark in the apartment, and he'd taken his goggles off. "Robin," he said, "I didn't expect to see you-" He almost said 'again' but changed it at the last moment. "Here."

Robin shrugged. "Was passing by. Caught your scent. Wanted to make sure everything was alright. You're not usually this far from the warehouse." She looked around. "How's Mouse?"

He shrugged a little. "She's fine," he replied. "She's back at the warehouse. I got her some new books, so she shouldn't be inclined to wander off. I hope not, anyway."

He was happy to see her, he decided. He did like her. It just felt odd, having her here where he and Rosie used to live.

Robin nodded. "Good. And I'm sure she won't go anywhere if you told her not to. That girl is more devoted to you than a puppy."

She tried not to appear too awkward in this space—the place he had lived, and thrived, with a wife and a career. And the place where his wife had died, from the feel of it. There was a stirring in the air that was growing harder to ignore, from the Other Side. The veil was thinnest tonight, after all. All sorts of things could get through.

Robin stepped closer to him. "So...you used to live here, yeah?" She gave him a weak smile. "Not a bad place."

He nodded. "Rosie and I," he said quietly. He indicated the lab area with his chin. "I had a lab in there. I'd rather you stay out of it, if it's all the same." He really didn't want anyone else in the place where Rosie had died. It was still too painful, even after a year and a half.

"Sure. No problem." She closed her eyes for a moment, feeling the spirit that was stirring brush across her mind. Rosie knew they were there...and Robin got the feeling she'd like to talk to her husband. For someone as scientifically minded as Otto-and thereby not sensitive to the supernatural world-that probably wouldn't happen without a little help.

"You...would you like to talk to her?" Robin asked hesitantly. "See her again? Cause...it's Samhein tonight. If you wanted to..."

"What?" He looked at her in confusion, actuators managing to convey the same emotion as they coiled around their host. "What are you talking about? Rosie's dead."

The dead were dead- they couldn't come back. If this was some kind of faerie trick, it wasn't a nice one.

Though on the off chance it was a genuine offer, that Robin could somehow facilitate a meeting with Rosie... Otto had long derided the mediums that claimed to be able to contact dead people for loved ones, seeing them as simple charlatans and cons. But Robin had magic- maybe... But her magic was illusion, wasn't it?

Wouldn't he be able to tell if the Rosie she showed him was false?

Robin smiled softly at him. "Dead, but not gone." She came to the other side of the table-avoiding the chair that gave off the strongest sense of the dead woman, but leaning on the other. "Death is...complicated. I can't claim to know everything that lies beyond this world...but there are other realms. Other states of being. On Samhein, the veil between these worlds is thinnest. Things bleed through. If you want to see her, I can help her through. Give her that extra boost."

She had energy to burn tonight, after all. It wouldn't be that difficult. And at the rate she was feeling Rosie, the woman would probably materialize on her own. The question was, would Otto be open enough to see her if she did?

Her explanation made sense. She hadn't lied to him yet, at least, not that he knew of. Was it possible? He would give anything to see Rosie again, to tell her he was sorry.

Would she want to see him? He was halfway to being a monster- he wasn't the Otto she knew. But if he could just talk to her, just once...

Slowly, he nodded.

Robin let out something of a sigh of relief. Good. Anything to relieve this pressure she was feeling of a spirit trying to break through. "Right then." She stepped back from the table, and closed her eyes.

She flickered out of existence for a moment, moving into Shadow, the in-between that existed between the Realms. Rosie was there, she could feel her. Letting the spirit latch on to her physical form, Robin formed a bridge for the spirit between the physical plane that she was still connected to and the spirit realm where she existed.

A moment later, Robin reappeared before Otto, eyes still closed. She opened them briefly, and smiled softly at the form materializing off to Otto's side. "I'll give you two some privacy," she said, stepping back. She settled on the floor against the wall, close to the corner.

Rosie emerged onto the physical plane. She smiled as she saw her husband. "Hello Otto," she said quietly. Around her, the apartment shifted and blurred, the worn belongings looking as they had before the accident.

His breath caught in his throat as he stared at her. God, that was her. That was Rosie. His Rosie. He'd never told Robin what she looked like, and yet here she was, exactly as he remembered her, in her favorite black shirt and gold wrap. Even the furnishings around her changed, to match how they'd been before that horrible day.

"Rosie?" he asked softly, hardly daring to believe it. The actuators drew back behind him, almost shyly. They'd never met Rosie directly, having not gained sentience until after her death. They didn't know what she would think of them.

The spirit smiled. "Yes, Otto, it's me." She reached to stroke his face, but her hand stopped a few inches from his skin. She looked sad for a moment, but then a green shimmer sparkled over her image. When it faded, she felt...solid. At least, solid enough to do what she wanted.

"Thank you, Robin," she called to the faerie. Then she reached forward and cupped Otto's face. "Hello."

He shivered and closed his eyes at the touch, covering her hand with his. It felt slightly cool, as if she'd just washed them in cold water. And her scent- that perfume... he knew that scent better than any. Sandalwood- her favorite. That scent wouldn't be copied in a hoax.

Flo chirped and peeked over his shoulder, getting her first good look at her 'mother'. Her sensors showed that there wasn't a flesh-and-blood person standing there, rather a figure of some coalesced, unfamiliar energy.

"Oh Rosie," Otto whispered, opening his eyes to look at her. "Rosie, I'm so sorry. What happened to you was my fault. If I'd just shut it down... I'm so sorry..." His throat ached, it was so tight.

"Oh Otto," Rosie said. "I know you're sorry." She leaned over a little, brushing back a bit of his hair in a familiar gesture. "What happened wasn't your fault. I don't hold you responsible. I never did."

She smiled, and kissed him. It was definitely her- he knew her kisses better than anything, and the way she brushed back his hair.

"One sees things differently from this side," she said, sliding into her chair, taking his hand. "What was meant to happen happened. You need to start coming to terms with that."

Otto gripped her hand, afraid that she might dissolve into nothingness. She might not blame him, but that didn't change the fact that if he hadn't been so sure of himself, so arrogant, so certain he could control the forces he was playing with, she might yet still be alive.

"How-" Otto swallowed hard and started again. "How could I have been meant to lose you?" In what kind of cruel world was that meant to happen? He and Rosie had been practically inseparable since day one, since that time when he'd tripped and stumbled into her on the steps of their college.

Rosie smiled softly at him. "I don't know everything, love. But it is possible that maybe...maybe there's something more for you." She squeezed his hand. "I died, Otto. I never wanted you to die with me."

Something more? What else could be in store for him? He'd failed miserably at the greatest work of his life- multiple times now- and gotten his wife, his Rosie, killed. How else would Fate like to screw him over before he finally managed to die? Come to think of it, that was another thing he'd managed to fail at. He should have died in the accident that had claimed her, and failing that, should have died in the river after bringing his second reactor down on his own head.

"I had nothing without you, Rosie," he replied. "I loved you so much- still do..." Even as he said them, the words sounded almost... flat. Pale. Like... excuses. She was right- if he'd thought about it, he knew she wouldn't have wanted him to shut himself away entirely. But it had hurt so much to lose her...

One by one, the actuators peeked out from behind Otto, regarding Rosie with a sort of worried awe. They knew they weren't supposed to be like this- they were meant to be tools, not self-aware appendages fused to Otto's flesh. What could she think of them?

Rosie smiled at the curious actuators, extending a hand to them. "I know that, Otto," she said. "And I believe that you always will love me. But your heart has room for so much more. More than grief. More than a lost love. You still have so much life to live, dearest. The only way I could ever be mad at you is if you let yourself become a Prufrock."

She gripped his hand tightly, afraid of letting him go. She felt the energy around her waver for a moment, and glanced in Robin's direction. "Not going to be able to keep this up forever, kiddies," the faerie said, her voice slightly husky. It took a lot of energy, holding open Shadow so that Rosie could stay here, and making her solid to boot. Not to mention guarding the gateway so that nothing else could come through.

The actuators gently nosed at Rosie's hand, chittering softly. She didn't seem to be afraid of them, or think they were somehow wrong. It was nice.

Otto nodded slowly at her words, nearly panicking as the solidity of it seemed to flicker. Robin was tiring- they didn't have much time. "Alright, Rosie. I'll... try." He rose and went around the table to her, hugging her tightly and placing one final kiss on her lips. "I love you." Trembling, he gave her a weak smile and pulled away- he didn't think he could stand to feel her fade if Robin lost her hold on things.

Rosie stood, and pulled Otto in for a last kiss of her own. She rested her forehead against his for a brief moment, clasping his hands. "Just...stay open, love. You always said that keeping an open mind was the only way to change things."

She released him, and looked back at Robin. A green Glamour was surrounding the faerie, her skin glowing with it slightly. Rosie could feel the pull of her resting place. She was finished here. They both had closure now, and she felt...peaceful.

Turning back to Otto, she smiled, and raised a hand in farewell. "I love you, Otto," she said softly. She felt her solidity fade, and gave Robin a nod that she was ready. The faerie blinked out of existence again, as Rosie faded. Robin escorted Rosie to Shadow, feeling her move on the rest of the way. Then she returned to the physical plane.

Robin came out close to Otto, placing a light hand on his arm. "It's alright," she said softly. "She's at peace. She'll be waiting for you."

Otto's head was bowed, his eyes closed, actuators drawn in close. No tears came, however, like he had almost expected. He felt the pang of her loss again, but it wasn't so unbearable. The emotional wound would still be there, but maybe now it could begin to heal properly.

Eyes still closed, Otto covered Robin's hand on his arm with his own. "Thank you," he whispered. "Thank you."

Robin gripped his hand, enough to let him know she was there. "You're most welcome, Otto Octavius," she said softly. It was nice, to be able to bring some closure to him. Perhaps now, he could find a way to go on living. Become a man again. He deserved it.

She gave him a moment, then patted his arm lightly. "Come on," she said, stepping back. "You look like you could use a drink. And I know plenty of good bars and pubs around here. What do you say?"

Otto opened his eyes and looked down at her, hesitating slightly. Yes, it was Halloween, but the actuators were too distinctive to risk being seen with. They didn't move like anything else that could be replicated in costume form. Robin could make them disappear, but they hated that, and what about getting around? His leg would have him in torment before they went half a block.

"Yes," he said slowly. He would like a Scotch right about now. "But... is there any way you can hide the actuators without actually making them disappear completely? They don't care for what you did the last time."

Robin nodded slowly. "Yeah, I think I could manage that. Would probably be easier anyway. And if I take you to Ninth Circle, we can let them come out once we're inside. It's a peri bar-humans don't frequent it. No one inside is going to be reporting you to the police."

"Alright," Otto said. The actuators clicked disapprovingly, but fell silent as he held up a hand. It was a reasonable compromise, and if she did just make them invisible or- or whatever- they'd still be there. And she'd said they could go somewhere they didn't need to hide.

He patted Flo's claw. "Do it, please. What's a peri bar?"

Robin grinned. "You'll see. I hope you're not allergic to feathers."

With that, she held up her hands, green Glamour sparkling off of them. She tossed it in Otto's direction, and what emerged was similar to what she had created that first night. A normal man, for the most part.

"Just try to keep them close to you," she advised. "Shall we?"

This was definitely an improvement over the last time. Last time they hadn't been expecting it, and Robin had made them completely vanish, to the point where Otto couldn't even feel them. This time, the actuators faded from sight alone, taking a bit of their weight with them. He could still sense the metal appendages, however, and they could sense him.

_better not great better_ Flo muttered.

_much better_ her twin corrected.

"Yes," Otto said in response to the faerie's question. Allergic to feathers? Why would she ask that? "We shall." He hesitated a moment, considering, flicked a slightly self-conscious glance at the spot where Rosie had been, then gave a mental shrug and offered Robin his arm.

Robin blinked, a little surprise, then laughed and took his arm. Why not. She led him out of the building, and down a few blocks to the Ninth Circle. Most humans shied away from the area in general, their subconscious picking up the threat of predators everywhere. Robin paid it no attention-for all that she looked like a normal human, she certainly wasn't one.

There were few patrons in the Ninth Circle tonight. Most supernatural creatures who could reasonably pass for human took advantage of Samhein to feast. Any oddities were written off as costumes, until it was too late for the dinner. Robin took Otto over to the bar and smiled at Ishiah.

"Hiya, Ish," she said. "Slow night?"

The peri glowered at her, his wings flickering into view briefly before disappearing. She knew full well that his hand was near his sword under the bar. "Puck," he said shortly. "You know better, bringing a human in here."

Robin just smiled. "He's a friend. I wanted to show him a good time." Then she lowered the Glamour that was hiding the actuators. "And he's not exactly helpless."

She had taken in the few patrons as they had walked in. A few wolves, a succibus, and a vodynoi. None of whom were a real threat to her or Otto.

Ishiah sighed, and grabbed the wine he kept for her kind. "You're as bad as your cousin, I think," he said. "You exist solely to torment me."

Robin wagged a finger at him. "Now, Ishiah...we both know that I look far better with feathers in my hair than he does. Though, I imagine you enjoy his company more." She looked over at Otto, gave it a thought, and added, "a Scotch for my friend, I think." She looked back to him, a questioning look in her eyes. "That alright? You seem like a Scotch man."

Otto was only half-listening to the discussion, knowing the actuators' audio recorders would pick it up and let him go over it later if he wanted. He and they scanned the room curiously. Had this been any other establishment in the city, he would have suspected all the oddities to be merely costume, makeup, and artifice. At a place Robin took him too, however... The group of rather lupine-looking people seemed a little _too_ well-made-up for that fur to be anything but real. And that woman at the end of the bar...he swallowed hard at the sight of her.

He nodded in response to Robin's question. "A Scotch would be very good, thank you." He kept his tone very polite, not wanting to irritate the man behind the bar. If he was hiding wings, what else might he be hiding?

Robin nodded to Ishiah, and poured a glass of her wine. The succubus was slithering up behind them, eyes on Otto. Robin turned to fix her with a glare. Her eyes flashed bright green for a moment, and the pointed ears flattened against her head. Robin hissed at her, letting just enough of her Glamour drop to reveal longer than human teeth and elongated fingers, ending in claws. The message was quite clear.

The succubus backed off, in her wiggling, almost slithering motion. She hissed back, the pointed snake's tongue sliding out between her teeth, but it was just for show. Robin's Glamour quickly returned to normal, and she spun back around to the bar with an almost predatory smile.

Ishiah brought over Otto's Scotch with a sigh. "Just don't start killing any of my patrons, would you? I get enough of that from my staff."

The faerie's smile turned more innocent as she sipped her wine. "As long as they don't bother us, I won't feel the need to kill anyone."

_woah what was that what the hell was that_

"That's a very good question," Otto said, swallowing a little to ease his suddenly-dry mouth. What had just happened? His gaze had been drawn towards the pretty woman until he'd turned back around- Larry had kept an eye on her as she came over to them, and then- there were tongues and teeth and hissing and what the hell had Robin just done to herself?

He looked over at her, a puzzled expression on his face as he swapped his goggles for a pair of slightly more discrete sunglasses drawn from a coat pocket. It was dim enough in here that he felt safe with the exchange.

Robin smiled at him. "Nice shades. We should be left alone now. Just had to show them who was boss." This statement earned a few growls from the wolves in the back, but she just turned and snarled at them. "Oh shut it."

They were only half-breeds, caught somewhere between human and wolf. All of the silly breeding experiments the wolves did were insane, to Robin's mind. Ishiah looked heavenwards and said something in ancient Persian. Robin raised an eyebrow at him. "It was not intentional. I can't help it if they're sensitive."

The peri shook his head and moved a little further down the bar, probably to avoid any bloodshed should someone be stupid enough to rush The Puck. Robin just smiled at Otto, propping up her head on her hand. "So. What do you think?"

"I think I managed to stumble upon the acquaintance of someone very influential in paranormal circles," Otto said quietly. He wasn't certain if that spooked him or not. However, if he had to go dabbling in the weird stuff, he supposed it was good that his guide had some clout. Flo hissed at the group of- those could not possibly be real werewolves, could they?- throwing in a few metal-on-metal scraping noises for good measure. She didn't want anyone getting the idea they were completely dependent on Robin to watch their back.

He sipped at his Scotch, pleased to find it very good. "I think I am impressed."

Robin looked pleased with herself, and with his answer. "Good," she said, taking another drink of wine. She heard Ishiah mutter something about pucks and their egos, but she ignored him for now. The wine was bringing a bit of color back to her cheeks, and made her feel a little better to boot. She was always wired on Samhein, but what she'd done with Rosie had taken a lot of energy.

Robin dropped her eyes a little. "I'm sorry I couldn't give you more time earlier," she said softly. Granted, part of that was that Rosie had done what she needed to do, and was ready to move back, but still. She felt a little responsible.

He petted the nearest actuator- it was Mo, nuzzling at his hand- and took another sip of his Scotch. "It was more than I could ever have expected," he told her. "I _never_ thought I would get a chance to speak to her again. What you did... I don't think you know how much that means to me." He smiled sadly at the faerie across from him. "I never got the chance to tell her good-bye. It all happened so fast. Thank you, Robin."

Robin nodded, squirming a little. "You're welcome. And you know...you will see her again, someday. She'll be waiting for you, I'm sure." She wasn't an expert on how the Other Side worked, but she knew a few things.

"Besides...she needed it too. To say goodbye. Gave you both closure. My good deed for the decade." She shrugged and downed the rest of her glass, and poured more wine immediately.

Best not to overdo the thanks. She seemed to be a little awkward about receiving them. Actually, the look on her face rather reminded him of how he had felt the first time Mouse had hugged him.

He smiled at her, and nodded. "I thought your good deed for the decade was helping Mouse," he pointed out.

Robin waved it off. "So I'm wracking up a few extras. Never know when I might hit a devious streak. Helps to be prepared." She winked at him over her wineglass. "Gotta keep a balance when it comes to this sort of thing."

He chuckled dryly at that. "A little karmic account balancing, is it?" he asked. "I suppose that's a good idea. As you say, you never know. Unless you can read the future. Can faeries read the future?"

Not that he had any interest in knowing what his future held. He really didn't. His recent past hadn't been all that fantastic, and in all likelihood that pattern would continue. Otto would just as soon not know for certain. That way, he could be pleasantly surprised if things turned out well.

Robin shook her head. "We have a few Oracles somewhere in another Realm that keep contact with Oberon if anything starts to shift out of place. But that's mostly for big huge alterations to the universal balance. Things that could create true chaos. There are some human seers though. They're rare, and they can't change the big things, but they exist."

She sipped her wine thoughtfully. "I actually wouldn't be surprised if Mouse develops some degree of the Sight. I have a feeling she's in tune with the universe. It would certainly explain how she's survived so long. Knowing just where to go, what to take, who to avoid. A lot of that a child so young would not have mastered."

The actuators looked at one another. Future-seeing could be explained easily enough, as a subconscious organization and interpretation of data in accordance with past patterns. Even they could predict, to a limited extent. For example, they had been very good at predicting where Spiderman would try to hit them.

"What do I do if she does develop it?" Otto asked. "Will she be alright?"

Robin nodded. "Oh yes. And it wouldn't be for several more years yet. More than likely, it'll just be little things for her, like it is now. Vibes, I think mortals call them. Getting a good vibe about one thing, bad vibe about something else. That sort of thing. She'll be fine."

It was actually a handy trick for mortals to have. It helped them accept the crap the universe threw on them, and helped them to maneuver ways around things. Win-win.

"Oh, I see."

A very useful trick- like Parker's spider-sense, or whatever he called it. Anything to help figure out what to do and when. Life was complicated enough. Any advantage was a good one.

He sipped his drink, studying her for a long moment. That thing she'd done to warn off that woman with the snake tongue... what had that been? Whatever it was, it had been unnerving to glimpse out of the corner of eye and camera, and he wanted a better look.

"May I ask you something?"

Robin sat down her own glass, perfectly composed under his scrutinizing gaze. Pucks did love to be admired, after all. She was no difference.

"Of course," she said, flashing him a perfect smile. No hobgoblin teeth this time, just shiny white little human teeth. Her lord did like for her to look her best, after all.

He reached out and tapped the back of her hand with a finger. It felt human to him, but she'd already demonstrated just how good she was with illusions.

"That's not what you really look like," he said calmly. "Is it?" Otto allowed no fear or accusation to show in his face or voice, merely simple curiosity, the image of a scientist who'd found an oddity.

Robin froze, and pulled back a little, letting both of her hands cup her wine glass. "Suppose it depends on your interpretation," she said slowly. "Is this my most basic form? No. But it is the one I wear most often, as it is more pleasing to my master. And I was born a human, so to some extent...it could be said it's closer to my true form. I don't know. Depends on how you see me. A human turned faerie, or just a hobgoblin."

Not that it mattered to her. She certainly didn't see herself as human. She just liked humans, that was all. They were fun to play with.

He continued to study her, Flo cocking her 'head' in perfect imitation of her host. Was there a way to see past the illusion? Or was it not an illusion, rather an actual shapechange? At length, he nodded, in understanding of her explanation.

"I'd like to see it sometime," he said, still in that calm voice. "If I may." Sadly, he'd only gotten the briefest impression of claws and teeth and long pointed ears when she'd sent the other creature away. For some reason, that half-glimpsed shape was more unsettling than a proper look, an almost ominous shadow in the corner of his eye. He didn't like things in the corner of his eye; he would much rather look at them straight-on.

Robin gave him a long, weighted look. "We'll see," she said evenly, picking up her glass again. Her hobgoblin form was not something that she let out lightly. It tended to just make things more difficult, unless there was an actual fight to be had.

The scientist nodded and picked up his glass, idly swirling the liquid inside. "Fair enough," he told her. "I was just curious. I'm a scientist- it's something of an occupational hazard." He might not be able to publish, or do legitimate research, or really much of anything, but damnit, he was still a scientist. He'd earned that 'Doctor' in front of his name a dozen times over.

Robin nodded. "I understand," she said. "Have quite the curious streak myself. It's just that...for one thing, a hobgoblin in not a nice thing to look at. For another, shifting into that...it makes things more tempting. Things I don't normally do. It's just a little bit harder to keep it restrained when I'm in that form. This…this is better."

It helped to change, sometimes, like in battle. But by and large, she hated being in hobgoblin form. It made her feel vicious and ugly all at the same time. Oberon usually had to keep a strong presence in her head when she was like that, to keep her from doing something stupid.

"I can understand the second," he said, turning his head to glare at the actuators. Mo had the decency to look at least vaguely apologetic. The number of times they had encouraged him to act against certain pesky little things like morals, particularly right after the accident. Yes, he had an idea of what it was like. Even as desperate and grief-stricken as he'd been, he'd never would have stooped to bank robbery and kidnapping to get what he needed if they hadn't nudged him. Not a perfect comparison, but at least a basis for one.

"As for the first, I'm afraid I'm one of those people who is more unnerved by a glimpse out of the corner of the eye than a good long direct look. With this many eyes-" he gestured at the actuators- "I don't like it when something manages to sneak up on me. But your reasons are perfectly valid. I'll live. If what I did see was any indication, this shape is far easier on the eyes than your other." He casually sipped at his Scotch, one eyebrow slightly raised in an invitation to share the joke.

Robin smirked, slightly surprised by his attitude, given his reaction to her kiss. "You have no idea. But perhaps one of these days, I'll give you one." She smiled coyly, adjusting her position to sit up a little straighter, and do her form a bit more justice. Perhaps that visit to Rosie really had opened his mind a bit. Not that she was going to risk pushing anything.

Flo looked disapprovingly at him at the proto-flirtation. Otto, for his part, ignored the actuator. Rosie was right- he shouldn't lock himself away. Granted, that did not mean he was going to fling himself at the first pretty girl to walk by. But he saw no harm in opening up to Robin a little. She was quite fascinating, after all. And pretty. Quite pretty. Apparently she knew it, shifting slightly so that her curves were arranged to a bit better advantage.

And it was nice talking to her.

"Perhaps one of these days," he agreed. "I think... I'd like that."

Robin smiled, and leaned forward, brushing her lips against his cheek in a light kiss. "Come on," she said, pulling back. "It's getting late. Better get you home. Lots of nasties roaming about tonight-wouldn't do to leave the little one alone too long."

She slid off of the stool, and headed for the door. Ishiah cleared his throat loudly. She turned and smirked at him. At his look, she rolled her eyes, and tossed a couple of gold coins onto the bar.

Ishiah picked them up, studying them. "These better not turn to mice once you're gone, Goodfellow," he said sternly. Robin just smiled.

"Ish, you I do that to you?" she answered sweetly.

He hadn't been expecting her to kiss him this time any more than he had the last time- but now he didn't jerk away. He let her, smiling a bit shyly as he did and ignoring Flo's muttered _we are going to have words_.

"Would you do that to him?" he asked as they left the Ninth Circle. "Give him coins that would turn to mice?"

Robin smiled. "Without a second thought. But then, Ishiah and I go back. He's well familiar with tricksters. He probably expects it."

The night was drawing to a close, and she could feel the veil beginning to thicken. She wrapped her arms around herself, though she wasn't cold, as they walked. She had hidden the actuators again as they left, in case Otto just wanted to walk home. But she knew that might be difficult for him, so she added a bit of pain relief into the Glamour, and waited to follow his lead.

"What do you think? Up and over, or you want to just walk?" she asked.

Dark as it was, Otto hadn't bothered to put his goggles back on. The sunglasses would serve well enough against artificial lights. He looked up at the nearest building, trying to mentally gauge how far they were from the warehouse and whether or not his leg would stand for the hike back. It wasn't hurting as much as it could have been—though he suspected Robin had something to do with that.

"I think we can walk for a bit," he said. "Are you cold?"

Robin shook her head. "Nope. The weather doesn't really affect me like it does humans. It takes pretty extreme temperatures for me to feel hot or cold."

They moved through the streets, watching the party goers starting to trickle home. It was still early enough that some were still out having fun. There were hoots and hollers and squirts of silly string from the drunk and mischievous of the humans. Robin smiled and shook her head. Children. They were quite amusing though.

They walked in silence for several blocks, watching the most determined of the celebrants make their final rounds. Otto could only watch them with a sort of detached curiosity. Halloween had never been a favorite holiday of his. He'd once dressed up as Einstein, back in grade school, and that attempt at fitting in with children his age had blown up spectacularly in his face. So had his glasses when the bullies cornered him.

"Will you be coming by again?" he asked his companion. "I know Mouse would like to see you. I think she misses you."

Robin shrugged, shoving her hands in her pockets. "Sure. I'd like to see her too. I'll have to head back to Court in the morning, but I can pop by tonight. Come back when I can." Now that the March was over, things would be a little calmer. "Shouldn't be long."

Speaking of Mouse...Robin blinked out of existence for barely a moment, back so fast that Otto's eyes didn't have time to register she'd gone anywhere. No reason Mouse shouldn't have a bit of a Halloween treat.

_where'd she go wait what_ The actuators gave a little squawk of confusion as she flickered out, then back in.

"You know, I don't think I'm going to ask what that was," he said, tucking his hands into his pockets.

Robin smiled. "Just grabbed a little treat for Mouse. The actuators saw me?" Interesting, that. They could detect what the human eye couldn't. That could mean that technology would become a problem for her kind-or at least for those who ventured into the cities.

Otto nodded. "They can see all sorts of things humans can't," he told her. "Fast movement in particular catches their attention. Never could figure out why. I don't recall programming them to notice things like that. But it's saved my life a few times, so I don't really question it."

_as well you shouldn't you don't know everything_

"Ah," Robin nodded. "Well, suppose that's a good thing."

They continued on, mostly in silence. But it was an easy, companionable silence. It wasn't often that Robin slowed down enough to just enjoy time with someone, but she found she rather liked it with Otto.

It wasn't often a person could find someone to be silent with. A conversational partner, that was easy. But someone you didn't have to talk to every moment... that was something different. Otto had only ever found two other people like that- Rosie and his friend Curt Connors. Now Robin had made the list.

The warehouse appeared as it always did, dark and rundown. That was more due to artifice these days rather than actual disrepair. Otto had spent a great deal of time shoring up the place in attempts to both block out the inevitable drafts and block the light from within at night. A building with lights on garnered attention if it was thought to be abandoned.

"Mouse?" he called softly as he and Robin went inside. "You still awake?"

Mouse was a very light sleeper. She had planned to stay awake until Otto got home, but it had started getting colder at night, and once she had snuggled under her blanket, she had drifted off. But she sat up quickly at the sound of Otto's voice.

"Yeah," she whispered, wrapping her blanket around her shoulders and tucking her feet under her. She could just barely make out the silhouette of a woman behind Otto-Robin was back, she realized.

Otto smiled and went to the little girl's side. "Just checking," he said, reaching over to brush some hair out of her eyes. It was getting long- should they try and do something about that? If he and Rosie had had children of their own, he might have a clue. "Robin wanted to stop by."

Mouse smiled at Otto, and looked over at Robin. The faerie woman smiled, coming over and sitting on a crate next to her bed. She spun a witch's hat out of thin air, and plopped it on Mouse's head. Then she made a smaller one for Tonto.

Robin reached into her pocket, and pulled out the foil covered chocolate witch she'd picked up for the girl. "Happy Halloween," she said, tossing the bar onto Mouse's bed.  
Mouse studied it for a moment, then gave her a hesitant smile. Otto didn't seem upset, and he had brought Robin here. They must all be friends again.

Otto gave her a slight nod of encouragement. Things were okay between him and Robin now, so Mouse had no need to be worried. He rather thought the little witch's hat for the bear was a nice touch.

Harry curled over to inspect the hats, nudging them a little. _really don't like when she does that breaking laws of physics_

_fun_ Mo interjected. He chirped and nuzzled Robin's hand to ask for a petting.

"Yes, happy Halloween, Mouse," Otto said, reaching over to straighten the hat on her head. "And you too, Robin."

Mouse smiled a little wider, settling Tonto in her lap and letting his hat tilt a little on his head. She had had no desire to go trick or treating, but the candy was nice. And she wouldn't have minded getting dressed up, if she could have found something. Especially something with a squishy skirt. She had always wanted something that spun when she did.

Robin nodded to Otto, and pulled out a second chocolate witch for him. She winked at him as she handed it over.

Otto took the second chocolate witch with a laugh and a nod. "Thank you," he said. The candy went into a pocket for later consumption. Briefly, he wondered what it might have been like to take Mouse out for trick-or-treating. He supposed that if they did it right, he and the actuators could have passed themselves off as a very good imitation of, well, themselves. But no, the cops weren't that stupid, and while loads of people dressed up as superheroes for Halloween, he'd never seen any dressing up as super_villains_.

Overall, Otto was rather pleased with how this evening had turned out.

Mouse smiled at the exchange. She pulled the blanket in tighter, so that she was covering Tonto too. It was getting chilly out.

She yawned widely, covering it with a blanket covered hand. Pulling the chocolate into her lap, she broke off a piece and tasted it. It was pretty good.

Robin smiled, and jumped off the crate. "Should probably let you go back to sleep," she said, rubbing the girl's back.

Otto set Mouse's chocolate bar aside and gently ruffled her hair. "Come on," he said fondly, "Back to bed."

He got the girl re-settled and accompanied Robin to the main entrance. The gesture was more habitual politeness than anything else, since she could simply vanish and didn't have to bother with doors if she didn't want to.

"Thank you," he told her, taking one of her hands in his. "Thank you for everything."

Robin smiled softly at him. "You're most welcome, Otto," she answered. She squeezed his hand, then leaned up and kissed his cheek.

He didn't let her hand go when she pulled away. Rosie's words about moving on, having a life to live, about there being something more, all rang in his mind. Could she have perhaps known more than she was saying? That would be like her, if she thought he had something he needed to work out.

Oh, to hell with it all. If this didn't work out, it didn't work out, and he could extricate himself before it got too painful. If it did, well, it would only prove that Rosie was a very smart woman.

_you're not going to oh no you're not you did_

Ignoring the voices in his head, Otto leaned forward and almost shyly kissed Robin in return, catching her lips.

The kiss was unexpected, but Robin reciprocated. She reminded herself not to get _too_ into it, as Otto was on shaky new ground. But she did let it deepen a little before pulling back.

She smiled at him, and patted his chest. "I should go," she said softly. "But I'll see you in a day or two, yeah?"

"Yeah," he said, a little breathlessly. He'd forgotten how first kisses could feel. "Yeah. See you soon."

She vanished, leaving him standing there.

_Otto's got a crush Otto's got a crush_

"Shut up, Mo."


	9. Chapter 8: Moving Day

A/N: Not sure there's any real warnings here—aside from the possible mangling of a Greek swear word. Unless you have a fear of invisible octopi.

Disclaimer: Marvel owns Otto, Robin belongs to herself, and Mouse sort of belongs to me.

Be sure that you check out the pictures on deviantArt—my co-author SilverGryphon8 is doing a great job with them. Also, we have a tropes page! If you're interested in a little sneak preview of what's to come (or want to see just how badly my dear gryphon is addicted to tropes) check it out!

/ pmwiki/ /FanFic/ TheLifeAfterDeathTrilogy

That's the name of our trilogy—or trilogy to be. Yes, this fic is the first of a three-parter.

Chapter 8: Moving Day

Otto had always been slow to wake up. It usually took him at least fifteen minutes to go from sleep, to opening his eyes, to convincing himself to crawl out of bed. Mental functionality did not exist until after coffee, except under extenuating circumstances.

Such as waking up to find a faerie still curled under his arm. That served to wake him up more than usual.

He blinked at her, vaguely startled to find her there. She was quite nice to wake up to, but the fact that he was waking up to her made him pause momentarily.

Robin had woken with the sun, but had been quite content to sit and relax until Otto woke up. Now she smiled up at him. "Morning," she said, leaning up to peck his cheek and sliding out from under his arm. She gave herself a proper stretch, and blew a fresh bit of warmth into the warehouse.

"Sleep alright?" she asked.

He looked up at her, squinting against the light, then nodded as he dug out his sunglasses and settled them on his nose. "Yes, actually," he said. "Quite well." Much better than he normally would, given that he'd slept half-sitting up. His back and leg were stiff as hell, but for once, there'd been no nightmares.

Around him, the actuators came out of the half-doze state they usually sank into when he was asleep and they had nothing to do. They chittered among themselves, Mo stretching out to nuzzle Robin and Larry going to check on Mouse. Otto envied their lack of dependency on caffeine.

Robin stood, taking pity on his half-awake state. "Coffee, breakfast, then we'll talk apartments," she said with a nod. In a flash, she was gone.

Several moments later, she reappeared, handed him a hot cup of coffee, and sat a bag of breakfast plates on the table. She went to check on Mouse, who was sitting on her bed, drawing and chittering to Larry. The child smiled a gap-toothed smile at the faerie, scrambling over when she saw the breakfast food.

Robin ruffled her hair, and sat out her food as Otto ambled over. She also sat the thermos of coffee in front of the scientist. Mouse had her milk, and soon, all the food was out and ready.

Otto could only watch in drowsy fascination as Robin zipped about, setting out both breakfast and table settings. Flo and Mo watched as well, their heads flicking from side to side as they tracked the faerie's progress.

"Robin's going to help us find a new place to live," he told Mouse. She was looking much better this morning. Jack did good work.

Mouse looked up from her pancakes with interest. So far, everything Robin had done for them had been wonderful. Surely a new home would be wonderful too. Maybe it would even be a proper one. Maybe she'd even get her own bedroom.

Robin smiled at the child, nodding as she stabbed into her own pancakes. Renewing energy made her hungry. "Absolutely. We'll get you two set up somewhere nice. Of course, it would be hard to find anything worse." She shook her head at the warehouse. 

Robin gestured with a fork as she ate. "I figure there's two ways to go about this. One, I make you look normal, we go about securing you a place with a false name and all. No one would blink at you being a single parent, not nowadays. The only risk there is that should someone find out about you, there's a higher chance of them turning you in.

"Or two, we find a landlord who doesn't care who you are, bride him to keep quiet, and hope for the best. What do you think?"

"I have false papers," he replied. "If we find a particularly disinterested landlord, we might not need you to disguise me. What happens if I need to go out and you're not there? With a hat and my glasses, I'll be less recognizable as a particular individual." He gestured to the sunglasses already on his nose. "People don't tend to look past particular things that stand out to them. These draw attention away from my features enough that I'd be tricky to memorize. So we find someone not particularly observant and use my false ID. I'll get some for Mouse later."

Robin shrugged. "I have a friend in the city. He has connections to some real estate agents. Got me a list of places he said would prove useful. I rather figured we'd want to go the "more interested in money than people" route. The landlords to these properties should be up the right ally."

A few hours and four apartments later, they hit pay dirt. A two bedroom apartment with an open floor plan that could easily be used as a lab for Otto, with a landlord who didn't care to look too closely at things. He was also the type who seemed that, should he discover the truth and have enough of a conscience to try to do something, that bit of conscience could be easily persuaded to do otherwise.

The warehouse was as they had left it-almost. Several crates had been moved around, and Mouse's soft giggling could be heard from somewhere. Robin and Otto exchanged looks of bemusement and confusion, as the little girl darted out from behind one crate and ducked behind another. She looked behind her as if watching for a playmate to swoop in for the attack.

Robin picked up a drawing off the floor as Otto disposed of his wet coat. It was a little girl-Mouse, if the poorly written word was any indication, and...an octopus. A smiling octopus with the name 'Bob' written above him, with an arrow pointing down. "Seems someone has found herself an imaginary friend," Robin murmured, coming over to Otto and showing him the picture. She looked over at the little girl, still peeking around crates at something only she could see.

Mouse patted Larry, chirping an introduction for Bob, then went back to her game. Bob was coming round the crate, so she ducked under Larry, and ran for the stairs in the back of the warehouse. She'd never played around the stairs before-both she and Otto had ignored the space that apparently led up to some sort of office. The glass had been knocked out of the window overlooking the floor long ago, and shards of it still littered the floor around the area.

But for once in her short life, Mouse was only focused on playing, and Bob would have a harder time catching her on the stairs.

Robin's head shot up at the soft crunch of glass under boots, and saw Mouse starting up the stairs, grinning and looking over her shoulder. One hand was on the banister, and the faerie frowned, as no part of the structure looked entirely safe. "Any idea if those are sturdy?" she asked. She'd never seen either mortal in that part of the warehouse, but she had no idea if Mouse used the spot as a play area or not.

Otto frowned at Mouse as he saw her cheerfully clomping up the stairs to what was some sort of office. He'd actually never been up there- he'd covered that broken window from the outside.

"I don't know, actually," he admitted. He went over towards the rickety-looking stairs, actuators chattering quietly. There'd never been any real reason for him to go up there.

Robin followed, staying a few steps back, peering at the structure carefully. On the one hand, Mouse didn't weigh very much. She was the size of a five or six year old. On the other, the loft office was more exposed to the elements-there were some boards covering the worst of the holes, but the old wooden floor had still soaked up a lot of rain over the years, and had plenty of time to start rotting.

Mouse was near the top of the stairs now, turning to make faces at Bob, who was feeling out the steps, slowly climbing up them. She ignored the groaning boards under her feet, still having too much fun to pay attention to them. Everything else in the old building groaned, so why wouldn't the floor?

He did not like those groaning sounds. Otto wasn't entirely certain, but they seemed to be subtly different than the sounds the warehouse made when settling.

"Mouse?" he called. "I think you should come down from there."

Mouse stood on her toes and looked over the railing at Otto, pouting. She was having fun. But it was Otto, and she always listened to Otto. Bob started complaining, but she looked at him and shrugged.

She started down the stairs, ambling along. Her boots were too big, so she had to take her time to make sure she didn't lose one.

There was a particularly loud groan, then a crack, and the floorboard under her floor disintegrated. Mouse tumbled forward, her hands shooting out to catch herself, but the next board down fell away too. With a gasp, Mouse fell through the stairs, too stunned to make even a squeak.

"Mouse!"

Otto rushed forward, intent on doing something. It wouldn't have been any use- there was no way a normal man could possibly have been able to save her from a fall among the broken boards.

Fortunately, Doctor Otto Octavius was not a normal man.

Larry shot ahead, arching above the railing and darting back down. His jaws closed around Mouse's waist to catch her as splinters and chunks of wood fell to the floor.

Robin was already moving, but Larry had been watching Mouse intently, and had been a bit closer. She was still a little disgruntled to be outrun by a machine, though. Hovering in mid-air, she looked down where Larry was gently extracting Mouse from the hole. Perhaps some part of her had gotten used to the actuators and she had known they could save Mouse. Or perhaps she was getting too use to cutting her speed for humans.

The Puck knew that she _would_ have caught Mouse in time-if nothing else, a Glamour could have suspended the girl in midair. But she hoped he wouldn't see it as a failing on her part to keep Mouse safe. They couldn't afford for him to doubt her now.

"Alright?" she asked Mouse, who was still wrapped in Larry's grip. The actuator was slowly moving her above the railing and back down to Otto. Mouse nodded, looking a little shaken, but unharmed. Robin followed, moving on air as though it was solid ground. Being able to laugh at gravity was one of the reasons she loved being an Air sprite.

Larry drew his friend safely clear of the stairs and deposited her at Otto's feet, who hugged her tightly. Chittering, the actuators nosed her, checking her for injury- all except Mo, who nuzzled at Robin.

"I guess we're not going up there anymore," Otto said, glancing up at the stairwell. Damnit, he should have checked up there, made sure it was safe.

Mouse hugged him back. She turned and pointed a finger at Bob, who was slithering about towards them. He was leaving a trail of ink behind him-he must have been scared. "No more stairs," she said, agreeing with Otto. She didn't want Bob to try and go up there on his own. Bob nodded, and went to get in the glass of water Mouse had sat out for him. Bob was a very special octopus, after all. He could change his size. 

_who is she talking to what is she talking to there's nothing there_ The actuators chittered with confusion, looking at one another. Otto made a 'never mind' gesture and silently told them that he would explain later.

Robin smiled and patted the girl's head as she came over to them. "Well, now that the excitement's over-we found you two a home today." Mouse's eyes lit up, and she looked back to Otto with an excited look. A home would be wonderful. Not to mention warmer and maybe even with a bathroom that you didn't have to scare the roaches out of every time you had to pee.

Otto kept an arm around Mouse's shoulders as he nodded. "We did," he confirmed. He was actually looking forward to getting a proper home. Someplace where he didn't have to be paranoid about people realizing that someone was living in a building that was supposed to be long abandoned. "We can move in as soon as we're packed."

Mouse immediately ran over to her bed, threw her drawing pad and crayons into her bag, and tossed it over her shoulder. She scooped the blanket off her bed, and picked up Bob's water glass. If she'd gone this long without a bed, she didn't really need one now. Besides, Robin had made it appear, she could probably make it disappear. She then ran back over to Otto, sloshing a little water on the way, with an expression that clearly said 'Ready.'

Robin covered a snort behind her hand. "Well that's efficient," she said. It had taken the child all of ten seconds to accomplish that, and most of that timing had been spent running.

"Very efficient," Otto agreed. That had been very impressive- he'd had no idea children could move so fast. He chuckled quietly. "Be a little bit patient, alright Mouse? _I_ have to pack too, you know." It wasn't as if he could just toss computers and complex scientific equipment into a bag, after all.

Speaking of which, he did still have to figure out how to transfer his things from Point A to Point B.

He glanced at Robin. "You have answers for everything else," he said, a little dryly. "Is there some sort of faerie moving service that might be willing to help out here?"

Robin raised an eyebrow at him. If she didn't know better, she would think he was taking her for granted. The trickster in her was tempted to just say no, and possibly disappear for a few days. Leave him to move his scientific toys himself. But that would have been mean, and she wasn't feeling mean.

"No, but I'll come up with something," she answered just as dryly. "Try to separate out what you really need, and what can be brought along later or replaced." After all, she could always return to the warehouse for the rest of it later.

"In the meantime, I'm going to find some proper clothes for this one," she added, smoothing Mouse's hair. The girl looked down at her clothes, then back at Robin, as if to say 'what's wrong with my clothes?'

Robin smiled at her. "Afraid you're going to draw more attention to yourself like that than in clothes that fit properly. Don't worry, I promise to keep the sparkles to an absolute minimum."

Otto offered a crooked smile in return for her raised eyebrow. "You are wonderful," he told her, this time completely not in jest, and leaned over to kiss her cheek. How could he forget how wonderful she was? She could walk on thin air, make things appear and disappear at the drop of a hat, and she liked him and Mouse and the actuators.

Robin couldn't stay even remotely mad at that face. She smiled reluctantly, and let him kiss her cheek. "Glad you remember that," she said. She looked down at Mouse. 

"You want to come with me, or stay here and help Otto?"

The little girl went and put down her things, coming back over to Robin. She was still holding the glass of water, not wanting to leave Bob behind. Robin smiled at her. "Your friend will have to stay here," she said. Mouse looked into the glass, bit her lip, then cupped both of her hands around it.

"S-stay," she said. Otto could probably use her help anyway. And it was still raining out.

Robin nodded. "Alright. I'll be back soon. I'll bring you some boxes too."

Otto smiled after Robin as she left. It was nice, too, to see that the charm still worked. He moved over to his lab space to begin sorting things. The actuators moved to help as soon as he took a seat at the workbench, easily going off in different directions to pick out what to keep, what to get rid of, and what to set aside for the time being.

"That water needs to stay away from the electronics," he warmed Mouse. "Water and electricity do not mix in any way that is pleasant."

Flo actually shuddered, remembering their last experience with electrical current and water.

Mouse nodded, carefully setting the glass down on a crate near her bed. She twirled a finger in the water, smiling at Bob swimming around, and went over to see if she could help Otto. Maybe when they got moved, she could get a fish tank or a gold fish bowl for Bob. He could use a bit more room.

She looked at the pile of things that still needed to be sorted, and looked at Otto, waiting for a task. She knew that he was picky about his equipment, and didn't want to touch anything she wasn't supposed to.

Otto directed her to help Larry move the items designated as 'set aside for now' to a safer spot as he worked at sorting things. Larry would handle anything too big or too delicate for her to deal with. In that fashion they managed to get through nearly all of the things in Otto's lab space by the time Robin returned.

Robin sauntered back in, a bag over one shoulder and a few shopping bags in her hands. She handed Otto the bag. "Boxes are inside," she said. "They should hold just about everything."

The bag itself wasn't very large, but like the boxes within, they would hold more than they appeared. She nodded Mouse over, and sat down the shopping bags. There were only two, but she knew it would be easier to outfit the girl once she and Otto were moved.

"This'll work for now," she said. Mouse dusted her hands, and came over, peeking in the bags. Everything was relatively simple, though nicer than anything she'd ever owned. There was also a coat in one of the bags. She lightly fingered the clothes, and looked up at Robin with big eyes. Launching forward, she gave the faerie a brief squeeze, then pulled out the shirt and pants that was on top, and raced over to her bed to change.

Robin went over to Otto, pulling out the boxes and started to load the piles inside. "Think this'll work?" she asked.

He chuckled, pleased to see Mouse so happy and showing apparently no sign of trauma from having a set of stairs crumble beneath her. "These should work well," he replied.

_what is this bigger on the inside no no no dammit stop breaking the laws of physics stupid faerie_ Flo nosed at the nearest box as her host and brothers began piling things into it. Turning to look at robin, she gave a rather disgruntled hissing sound.

"Be nice," Otto chided, patting her.

Robin looked at the actuator, bared her teeth and hissed back. She was not afraid of a machine, sentient or not. And _no_ machine was going to hiss at her and get away with it.

Mouse came over slowly, a little bashful in her new clothes. Robin smiled at her, pleased with her handiwork. "Much better," she approved. She had stuck with clothing that was as simple as possible, not wanting to shock Mouse out of her element. Later, when the child was more settled, she could take her shopping properly.

Mouse smiled shyly, looking at her shoes-white sneakers with Velcro straps. She bit her lip, and looked at Otto.

He smacked the still-hissing actuator- lightly, as she was made of metal, after all- and looked at Mouse. Her new clothing was simple, but it was clean, new, and fit her rather well. A far cry from the grubby things she usually wore.

"_Much_ better," he agreed. Glancing at Robin, he debated trying for a second joke. After the results of the earlier one, he decided against it. Instead he cleared his throat. "Sorry about Flo. Those little tricks of yours- the ones that break certain physical laws- agitate her. She knows to behave." He gave the actuator a stern look, and she mumbled something indistinct in his mind. "Or she'd better, anyway."

Robin shrugged. "Laws of physics. Silly things, that. Like gravity. It's only useful part of the time anyway." 

Only useful part of the time? Otto eyed the faerie from the corner of his eye. She was a fantastic woman, but every now and then she just said something that seemed deliberately calculated to turn his world upside down. How did she manage to do it? 

She continued sweeping things into boxes with a slightly faster than human speed. Tossing the bag that had held the boxes to Mouse, she said, "Why don't you fold up your bedding in that. Don't worry about the bed itself-I can take care of it."

Mouse nodded and went to do as she was told. She also put the other clothing items in the bag, as well as her old clothes. She was used to being prepared, and she knew that she might need her old clothes again.

Laboratory equipment taken care of, Otto went to deal with his personal belongings. There weren't many- a few changes of clothes and the like, and some books and computer things. All easily transported, even if they hadn't had Robin's dimensionally transcendent boxes to pack things in. Flo hovered by his shoulder, not sure she still wanted anything to do with the faerie. She was, however, outvoted on that matter four to one.

Mouse brought her own things over to Otto's pile, and went back for the cup of water. She carried it carefully, and looked up at Robin to see if there was anything else.

Robin winked at the girl, extended a hand, and snapped. The bed disappeared, a few green sparks falling to the ground in its wake. "I'll make you a new one," Robin promised. She looked over the gathered boxes, and hit them with a burst of Glamour. They shrunk down to be small enough to fit inside a small wooden box Robin had. It almost looked like a small jewelry box. She tucked the miniature packed goods inside, and stood.

Giving Mouse another wink, she called to Otto. "Shake a leg, Octavius. I thought it was supposed to be the women who took a long time to pack."

"I'm done, I'm done," he protested, bringing over the box with his belongings. He'd watched the magical shrinking of the other boxes with interest, wondering if there was a scientific way of doing just that. It would be quite useful...

_honey i shrunk the kids_

Alright, there was that. That could be problematic.

Robin nodded to the box in his hands. "You want to carry that, or want me to put it in here?" she asked, patting the wooden box in her hands. Then she looked at Mouse, who was sloshing a bit of water everywhere when she moved, no matter how hard she tried. Robin put the smaller box on the table, and reached deep into her pocket. Finally she extracted a small jar with a lid.

"Here, love. Why don't you put your friend in this?" she said, handing it to Mouse. The girl took it, sitting the jar on the table. Then she reached her hand into the water to let Bob climb up. Setting him carefully on the crate, she unscrewed the jar and poured the water inside. Then she deposited Bob back into the water and rescrewed the lid. She came back over, smiling a thank you at Robin.

He supposed he could understand humoring a child in their belief in an imaginary friend, but that seemed to be stretching it. But he said nothing to that. He supposed there were worse beliefs to indulge.

Otto shrugged and held out the box. "That's easier to handle," he said, nodding to the smaller one she carried.

Robin nodded, shrunk his down too, and added it to the collection. While she was at it, she gave Otto a Look that said he was to keep his mouth shut regarding Mouse and her friend. The child obviously needed a playmate in the worst possible way. Besides...not all imaginary friends weren't real.

"All invisible octopi can change their size. Didn't you know that?" she told him, giving Mouse a grin. The girl nodded, peering into the glass to make sure Bob was happy. He seemed to enjoy it. Robin gave Otto one more stern look, and closed the small box. She knew that a scientifically minded man might not see the point of an imaginary friend, but if it made the child happy, what was the harm? Children grew up too fast as it was.

He arched his eyebrows slightly, indicating that he wasn't about to say anything against Mouse's imaginary friend. He'd never had one himself, though he understood that other children had them. Otto had spent far too much time with his nose in a book as a child to have ever seen the point. Rationality had marked him at an early age.

Odd that a mystical creature like Robin should seek him out. It flew in the face of all logic.

"No," he said, shaking his head. "I didn't know that. I never studied the invisible kind. So much easier to use visible ones as models for the actuators."

_you're not seriously encouraging this no such thing as invisible octopi only octopi that pretend to be invisible through camouflage_

Well, he wasn't _dis_couraging it.

Robin smiled slyly at him. Good boy. She'd teach him to play games if it killed them. Gripping the box, she handed Otto his fedora as Mouse pulled on her new coat. "All ready?" Robin asked, looking at the pair.

Mouse juggled her jar from one hand to the other as she struggled into the new coat. It was a bit big on her, but Robin knew that the child would probably start growing properly now that she would be eating actual meals. She wanted the coat to last the winter.

The actuators muttered as Otto pulled on his coat and fedora. _They_ didn't see the point in letting Mouse delude herself. Why believe in things that didn't exist? It made no sense.

He shooed them into hiding under the folds of his coat. Playing along made Mouse happy and kept Robin from glaring at him. That was enough for him. "Ready," he said to the faerie. "I can carry that, if you want."

Robin handed the box to him, then reached down to adjust Mouse's coat. The girl was struggling with it a little. Robin straightened the collar and bent to do up the buttons. Straightening, she tucked a bit of hair behind the child's ear.

"Best be off then," Robin said. She offered a hand to Mouse, who adjusted her bag across her shoulders and slid her hand into that of the faerie. The trio headed out of the warehouse one last time.

Otto cast a final glance at the warehouse that had been his refuge for the past several months, then resolutely turned his back on it. It was just an abandoned warehouse now. Now, he had something he could make a real home out of.

The new apartment was a far cry from the warehouse. It was warm all on its own, for one. For another, they didn't have to sneak into it. It was theirs, rent paid in full and everything. Otto liked that.

Unpacking took them only a little longer than packing, with so many hands to help. Glancing into the kitchen as they finished, Otto smiled.

"I can actually cook now," he said.

Robin raised an eyebrow at him. "You can cook?" she asked, somewhat surprised. It was her understanding that most of the mortal men nowadays couldn't, or wouldn't, cook for themselves. But then...that was actually a standard that had existed for several centuries.

Otto smirked and looked over the rims of his sunglasses at her. "Yes, actually," he said. "I'm not half bad. Picked it up in college after my father died and I'd proven I was smarter than my professors. I needed something to keep me occupied. And have you ever eaten at a college campus? Unless the culinary arts program helps run the cafe, it's not generally brilliant."

It seemed that he'd actually managed to surprise her. That was rather gratifying- so often lately it was _she_ who surprised _him_, and it was nice to turn the tables on her once in a while.

Robin smiled, moving over and running a hand down his arm. "Guess you'll just have to impress me sometime," she said with a mischievous smirk.

Mouse was running around the apartment, her eyes so big they looked like they could fall out of her head at any moment. Robin had already made her a new bed. The faerie watched her, bemused, as the three and a half foot whirlwind blew past them again, a jar of water in hand. Robin laughed as the girl took off down the hallway again. Compared to what she had seen of Mouse's old home, and the warehouse, she knew that the apartment must look like a paradise.

Robin turned twinkling eyes back to Otto, glad to see them both happy. She started to say something, then winced at the sudden burst of pain behind her eyes. She actually saw stars for a moment. Jerking straighter, she stepped back from Otto, pressing a hand to her temple. Someone was in a temper, and Oberon wanted her. Now.

"_Gamoto_," Robin cursed. Then she winced again. Oberon apparently took the curse personally. "Sorry, sorry," she muttered, turning her head slightly, as though talking to someone behind her. "Be there in a tic." At this rate, her lord would cripple her halfway across the Atlantic and make her swim home. He was _not_ happy.

She gave Otto an apologetic smile. "Looks like I gotta run. But I'll be back when I can, alright?" Leaning up, she kissed his cheek. Her hand on her arm clinched tight in reflex as another impatient stab flared in her head. "Sorry," she muttered, smoothing down his sweater. She had probably bruised him.

He winced in pain as she involuntarily clenched her hand on his arm. He'd had no idea she was that strong.

Who the hell wanted her so badly as to cause her actual pain? That was clearly pain being inflicted on her from some outside source. Otto vaguely recalled her saying something about being psychically linked to the faerie king she served- surely he wasn't responsible for hurting her?

That thought made him quite angry, that anyone bound to Robin in such a way would hurt her. It was just... wrong.

"I'm alright," he replied. The agitated actuators behind him hissed softly, reflecting his true feelings on the matter. He leaned over and kissed her properly, cupping her cheek with his hand. "Don't get yourself into trouble on my account. Mouse and I can manage on our own."

Robin gave him a reassuring smile that was a little too bright. "No worries. Something's just got Oberon in a temper, and he needs his Puck. He'll be fine once I go and get it all sorted." It was what she did, after all.

A childish shriek of laughter was heard down the hall. Robin turned to see Mouse come running back towards them, looking over her shoulder. Apparently she and Bob were having a game of tag.

Robin snagged the girl lightly, giving her a hug. "I have to go, Mouse. It might be a few weeks before you see me again, but I'll come back. You be good, alright?"

Mouse frowned, wrapping her arms around Robin. She didn't want her to go. Otto was happy when Robin was around-at least more than she'd ever seen him before. But Robin patted the child's head, repressing a wince at the shouts in her head.

She gave Otto another kiss, and stepped back, giving them both a wave. "See you," she said.

"See you." Otto bit back his unhappiness enough to smile at her. Mouse's pleading hug actually summed up his feelings about the matter rather well. He adamantly did not want Robin to go. He wasn't quite so as sanguine as Mouse that she would return.

The faerie vanished, leaving the two humans behind in an apartment that suddenly felt oddly empty. Otto shivered a little, and went to scoop Mouse into his arms.

"So it's just us now," he said, trying to smile.

Mouse was quick to hug Otto, who seemed like he needed it. "Just us," she agreed, a little sadly. "And Bob." That fact she seemed a little brighter about.

"And Bob," Otto agreed. What else could he do? He couldn't start trying to dissuade her about Bob the invisible octopus now, after all. No matter what the actuators said.

He hugged the little girl tightly and set her back on her feet. "Your room all set up?"

Mouse nodded, taking his hand and pulling him eagerly down the hall. With a smile, she pushed open the door. Robin had made her a similar bed to her old one, though this one was white. Mouse's books were carefully stacked on her bedside table, with Bob's water jar next to them, and her clothes hanging in the closet. Her messenger bag hung from one of the bedposts. Though it was a little bare, it was clearly the beginning makings of a little girl's room.

The child smiled proudly up at Otto. She had helped Robin set up, after all. And she had never felt so proud to have something that was _hers_, completely hers. She hugged him again, squeezing her arms around his middle. "Good," she said simply. "Home. _Our_ home."

"It is," he agreed. She was right. This was their home- a place of their own. He was still a fugitive who had, more or less, kidnapped a traumatized little girl and murdered nearly a half-dozen people in order to do it, but dammit, she was right. This was their home.

This was their home- and he had family.


	10. Chapter 9: Here Comes the Spiderman

A/N: In which Spiderman makes an appearance, and Otto and Robin get into a little hanky panky.

Disclaimer: They either belong to Marvel, themselves, or us. We're not making money off of it. Sadly.

* * *

Chapter 9: Here Comes the Spiderman

Mouse, they had discovered, really liked being carried over the rooftops. Otto didn't take her up there often, but it had gotten darker and colder than they had expected while they were inside the grocery store.

Since it was dark, Otto had given in to her hopeful expression and scooped her up, letting the actuators carry them and their purchases up the side of a building. The city was still busy below them, and brightly lit, but the light was mostly aimed at ground level. They would just be odd shadows at the skyline if anyone actually cared to look upwards.

There was something about the wind and looking down at people instead of skirting around them. They were truly invisible up on the rooftops, and that was a big part of why Mouse loved it. It was just her and Otto and the actuators, and there was a sense of freedom up high that she had never known existed.

True, she'd been a little nervous the first few times. But she knew that Otto and the actuators wouldn't let anything happen to her. Besides, it had gotten cold and dark while they were in the store. So she clung to one of the bags with one hand, and held tight to Otto with the other. Her small hand was wrapped tight in the dark green material of his coat, her face turned away from the wind at the moment. Instead she snuggled as close as she could to Otto, watching the lighting from the side, looking down for a few moments then closing her eyes when the wind stung them.

But it was the motion itself, and so many other things about the trips that made them special. Mouse didn't have to watch to enjoy them. She smiled, closing her eyes again, and giggled.

Otto drew up for a moment on the rooftop of a building that overlooked Central Park. Here, with fewer buildings to block the light, they could see the last bit of sunset gilding the trees below. He'd gone out of their direct way home just so he and Mouse could get a look at the view.

"Look," he said softly to the little girl who had her face half-buried in his coat. He loved looking at the park at dawn and dusk, when the long light formed such interesting textures and colors with the trees. It was about the only place you could get such a view in the city.

Mouse turned her head, not releasing her hold on Otto's coat, and looked out at the colors sweeping over the trees. Her eyes got big as she took it all in. This was a far cry from the squalor and darkness of Hell's Kitchen. No matter the time of day, that area of the city always felt stooped in shadows.

The trees were also a nice change. Mouse had only been to the park a few times in her life-the tiny one in Hell's Kitchen was too dangerous to venture into, with the drug dealers and all. She had seen Central Park from a distance, but this was about the closest she'd ever been to it.

The colors over the trees felt like something out of a storybook. Mouse had vague memories of the fairy tales her gran would read her, and the illustrations inside. She'd had that book until two years ago, when Devon had ripped it apart. With wide eyes, Mouse turned a little more. "Wow," she breathed.

He grinned at the sheer astonishment in her voice and at the look of wonder on her face, as seen by Mo.

"I'd always wanted an apartment that looked over the park," he said. "Rosie and I had planned on getting one after the reactor project went online." They used to walk along the paths in the park, pointing out buildings they would like to live in, trying to guess which had the best view and which would be plagued by sunlight reflecting off the reservoir. "Maybe one day."

A pretty vague hope, to be sure, but God, if he ever got his name cleared, he'd act on that dream.

Mouse nodded. Yep, one day they would have an apartment overlooking the park. And they could go down and play whenever they wanted. She pointed to a building off to their right, which seemed to have a nice view of the area, without the sun glaring into the windows.

"That one," she said with confidence. She had a good feeling about that one.

The wind stirred up again, making her eyes water a little. Sometimes she envied Otto and his sunglasses. Or better yet, his goggles, in weather like this. She had tried on his goggles once, but they had fallen over her nose. But it had made him laugh, so it was okay.

She shivered, and Otto adjusted his hold on her, moving on. She took one last look at the fading sunlight, then shifted in his arms, so that she could hide her face in his shoulder. Her nose was stinging a bit, from the bitterness.

Looking over his shoulder, a strange sight caught Mouse's sharp eyes. She blinked, and straightened a little. Then she tugged at Otto's coat, getting a little worried. "O-otto..." she stuttered, worry creeping into her voice. She'd started hearing more stories about the Spiderman, now that they were in the city. She knew that Otto didn't care for him much, and wanted to avoid him. And right now, the streak of red and blue was heading in their direction.

Man and actuators turned to look at what Mouse had spotted. Instantly, Flo and her twin hissed angrily. They knew that blue-and-red shape.

It took Otto, with his dark goggles, longer to make out the figure himself. When he saw it, however, he bit back a curse. Spiderman. Peter Parker.

He didn't specifically object to the boy- he'd done a great deal to knock sense back into him after Rosie's death, after all- but Otto had left him with the impression that he was dead and had not bothered to let him know otherwise. With his luck, the boy would feel obligated to turn him over to the police or some other such nonsense he didn't have time for. And knowing heroes, Parker would probably assume the worse about him and Mouse, that he was kidnapping her for some nefarious purpose.

Otto landed on the next roof and skidded to a halt, actuator claws spraying up gravel. Setting Mouse on her feet, he handed her the shopping bags- all light stuff, thank God- and pointed towards the access door.

"Hide," he ordered. "If you can, get to the street and meet me at that Chinese restaurant we stopped for dinner at, understand? I have to go knock some sense into this kid." He kissed the top of her head and gave her a gentle push towards the door. She'd be alright- the restaurant was only a few blocks away, and was well-lit, in a much better part of town than Hell's Kitchen.

Mouse hesitated for a moment, then nodded. Otto could take care of himself. She squeezed his hand, then was off. Few people, adult or child, could move like Mouse could when she wanted to. She was good at moving quickly, and being completely unobtrusive at the same time. People just never looked at her very hard.

She struggled with the door for a moment-it was heavy, and her arms were full with the bags. But she managed, only looking back for a brief second as the door closed on her sight of Otto, standing with actuators ready. Then she hit the stairs, and moved as quickly as her legs could carry her. When she got to the street, she looked up, but could only catch a hint of familiar metal in the gathering gloom. The street lights made it so that the rooftops were shadowed.

So she sighed, and did as she was told. Moving like a ghost on the sidewalk, she moved through the people, knowing that even in this part of town, no one would pay enough attention to her to wonder about such a small child being out be herself at night.

Otto didn't have to wait in solitude long. Barely a half minute after Mouse disappeared down the stairs, Spiderman arrived.

"Yo Doc!" he called, perching on top of a large antenna. The sturdy metal rod, designed to withstand the worst storms New York could throw at it, didn't even bend under his weight. "Alive and back to your old tricks, huh? I thought we had this conversation about kidnapping girls!"

He fired a spray of sticky webbing at Otto, who scrambled aside to avoid it. An edge caught on Harry's side and dragged the actuator to the ground. Snapping, Mo lunged for the costumed hero while Larry cut away the web that pinned its twin.

"It's not what you think!" Otto called back, whirling to track Parker as he flipped overhead. A hard blob of webbing hit him in the face and bounced off, knocking him half off-balance.

For supposedly being a good guy, Parker could be a bit dense. "Really? So you're saying it wasn't Harry Osborn paying you to kidnap her in exchange for tritium this time, it was some other owner of another research corporation?"

It had been nearly three weeks since Robin had been in the city of New York. She was anxious to see her mortals. When they hadn't been at their home, she had traced them into the city. Of course, running invisibly through the air, it wasn't hard to have your attention caught by a man with metal arms fighting off what appeared to be a color blind acrobat firing...webbing?

Ah, the infamous Spiderman. Robin had rather been hoping she would get a shot at him. Still invisible, she waved a hand, and the webbing that had been aimed for Otto's face twisted in its path, and instead hit the child who had shot it.

She landed on the roof in a crouch, appearing as she did. "Hello all," she said aimably. "Lovely night, isn't it?" The spandexed would-be superhero was clawing webbing off his mask, and Otto looked suitably pleased with the sight.

"Hey you," she said, coming over to Otto. In a low voice, she said, "I'm assuming the little one is alright?"

_ha now who's got web on his face_

Otto nearly laughed out loud as the webbing he'd been about to dodge suddenly made a U-turn in midair and hit the young man who'd fired it. There was only one person who could- and would- do that for him.

"Hello beautiful," he said, feeling much more cheerful at the sight of Robin. It was a very welcome- and pretty- sight. "Yes, she's fine."

Parker tore the webbing loose and flipped back, eying the newcomer warily. "New girlfriend, Doc?" he asked dryly. Webbing wasn't going to be much good on someone who could redirect them in midair.

Robin raised an eyebrow, and looked to Otto. "That's a good question, Doctor," she said coyly. "Here I thought you liked me, and I find you playing with boys in Technicolor spandex."

"Playing with him was not my idea," Otto muttered. "He started it. And I do like you." A lot, come to think of it. The actuators coiled around him, ready to strike should they think they needed to.

She shifted her gaze to Spiderman, arms crossed. "That costume is hideous, by the way. You look like an absolute loon."

"I worked hard on this costume!" Spiderman protested, sounding hurt.

Despite the playful facade, The Puck was on alert. Not that she was much worried about this Spiderman, but still. Now she smiled at Otto, and looked over at the child playing dress-up. "Then next time you ought to work a little harder at not looking like a color blind cockroach," she said.

Looking at Otto, she interweaved an arm through his. "Now then. Shall we go?"

Spiderman ignored the comment and looked at Otto. "The girl- you didn't kidnap her?"

Otto shook his head.

"Then what were you doing with her, Doc?"

"Grocery shopping," he replied. Flo reached out and picked up a package of Oreos that had fallen from the shopping bags. Her grip was perhaps a little stronger than necessary- Otto winced at the sound of crushing cookies. The actuators were only tolerating Spiderman because Otto wanted them to. "I took her in away from some men who were hurting her. She's safe with me- I swear on Rosie's grave that I'd rather die than hurt that little girl."

The actuators' telescoping filters caught the slight twitch of muscle under Spiderman's mask. He'd raised his eyebrows.

"Your wife's grave, huh?"

Otto nodded. "I don't want trouble, Parker," he said, trying to make his voice sincere, as there was no way he was going to take off his goggles right now. "I'm not out to make trouble. I just want to be left alone."

The superhero's head cocked slightly to the left, then he too nodded. "You'd better not make trouble," he warned. "I'll be watching you."

"I hardly expect any less." He gave a crooked little smile, sensing more than a measure of young male bravado behind the words. The last few times they'd met, it had been Parker who'd gotten the worse of it, not Otto. The kid had guts.

Robin glared at the boy, rather annoyed by the interference. "Didn't anyone ever teach you about minding your own business?" she asked. "Why don't you go find a little old lady to help across the street? He's not causing any trouble."

Her eyes flashed bright green in the gloom. "You should be far more worried about trouble out of _me_ than him." Because this child could have hurt her mortals. Could still cause them trouble. And she did not like it when someone caused her mortals trouble.

Spiderman took a step back, holding his hands up in a peaceful gesture. "Hey, lady, if the Doc's gonna stay out of trouble from now on, I don't _need_ him to add to my collection of bruises."

"It's all right," Otto said quietly, laying a hand on Robin's arm as Mo curled around her. "Let it go. Good _night_, Parker."

The younger man nodded and turned, firing a line of web at a building across the street. He paused a moment, then glanced at Otto. "Glad to see you didn't die, Doc." Then he dropped off the side of the roof, swinging off into the night with a loud whoop.

Robin stared at the departing boy, torn between disbelief and horror. "_This_ is what the world is coming to?" she asked. "Idiot children running amok in their underwear, playing cops and robbers in the skies? Yet they consider the days of the gladiators barbaric. And really, there weren't _that_ many Christians killed."

She looked around, catching onto Mouse's scent. "Where did you tell her to go?" she asked.

"I'll give the kid this, he does handle the superpowered crowd reasonably well," Otto replied, ignoring the dark mutterings from his actuators. "But so long as I'm not caught doing anything illegal- or majorly illegal and threatening to the public, anyway, he'll keep his nose out of our business. He was something of a fan of mine before all this."

He could clearly remember the day when Peter Parker had come to his lab to interview him for that paper Curt had assigned him. If only he'd known then...

No, best not go down that second-guessing road again. That never helped.

"She went to that Chinese restaurant on 43rd we like so much. It was close and I wanted her well clear of anything that happened here. She'll be happy to see you again." He smiled down at her. "I am."

Robin smiled back at him, and leaned up to plant a kiss on his lips. "Sorry it took so long. There was a bit of business to be cleared up." Business that had involved kicking a bit of UnSeelie arse back into their own territory. At least Oberon's temper had been well justified.  
She looked at the twilight that was quickly becoming night. Fortunately, in the city, it was never truly dark, but it was still too dark for a child to be out on her own. "Want me to go ahead? I can be there in a moment."

He could really, really get to like Robin's kisses.

"That's probably a good idea," he replied when the slight pleasant haze the kiss had produced had cleared. Mo was nuzzling the faerie, chirping his happiness.

_robin's back good don't like it when she goes_

"Actually, why don't you take her right on to the apartment. I'll meet you both there- no need for her to be out in the cold any longer than necessary."

Robin nodded, add a quick kiss to his cheek, and was gone.

It was only a few blocks to the restaurant. She was able to follow Mouse's scent all the way there. The faerie found the child huddled at the entrance to the alley, grocery bags at her feet, eyes on the rooftops, though she would glance to the street occasionally. Robin squatted next to her, appearing between one blink and the next. "Hiya," she said softly.

Mouse jumped a little, and looked at Robin. Once she recognized the woman, she threw her arms around her neck. "O-otto," Mouse said urgently. Robin smiled at her reassuringly.

"Already seen him. He's fine. He's going to meet us at the apartment." She picked up the grocery bags in one hand, and scooped up the child with the other. Mouse tightened her grip around Robin's neck.

"Close your eyes, and hold on tight," Robin advised. The child obeyed, and Robin wrapped invisibility around them, climbing the air like stairs. She ran at about half her normal speed, which was still fast enough to turn the city into a blur. A moment later, they were at the apartment.

Robin sat Mouse down on a faded red couch, which was a new addition. "Okay, you can open your eyes now." She took the bags into the kitchen as Mouse caught her breath, slowly opening her eyes. "Wow," she said softly. Her hair was everywhere, torn loose from its short ponytail.

Otto took the most direct route he knew of home, able to move more quickly across the rooftops without Mouse in tow. The actuators always tried to give her a smoother ride when she was with them, and that slowed them down. Now they carried him at full speed. The darkened city raced by beneath them.

He arrived on the balcony of their apartment and pushed the door open, running a hand through his windblown hair.

"Hey Mouse," he called, smiling warmly and going to hug her.

Mouse smiled in relief, and ran to hug him. A mass of seven year old collided with his legs, latching onto his middle as hard as she could squeeze. She didn't like leaving him like that.

Robin came out from putting away the groceries, smiling at the sight of them. "I think someone likes the idea of you getting hurt even less than I do," she said, leaning against the wall.

"Oof."

Harry and Larry planted themselves on the floor behind him to act as braces against the colliding child. Their host chuckled slightly and hugged the girl in reply. "Yes, I can see that." He smiled down at her. "You don't have to worry about Spiderman bothering us anymore. There was just a little misunderstanding. I set him straight." Larry snapped at the air for emphasis and nuzzled Mouse.

Mouse nuzzled Larry back, and after a moment, managed to unpry herself from Otto's legs. She took off her coat and went to hang it on its hook.

Robin came over to Otto, giving him a hug of her own. Her's was slower and gentler, as she breathed him in. It was so nice to be back here. Nicer than she'd expected it to be.

"You two seem to have settled in nicely," she said softly, placing her head against his shoulder for a moment.

Otto smiled and rested his cheek against the top of her head. She was just the right height for him to do that, nestling in perfectly against him.

"I missed you," he said. "It's been too quiet here without you, Robin." It really had been- he couldn't help but glance over his shoulder every so often to look for her to appear out of thin air. Three weeks of that had driven home how lonely he'd been without her. Mouse was company, yes, and he adored her, but Robin was someone to talk to, someone to enjoy being with on a different level.

Robin rolled her eyes playfully, though she was secretly pleased that he'd missed her. "And to think, most people I know are usually glad to see me gone," she said with a laugh.

Mouse came back towards the lab area, peeking in on them. She had wanted to show Robin her room-it was all set up now, and Otto had gotten her some new books. She couldn't read them properly, but he didn't know that, and the pictures were pretty.

But she didn't want to disturb them while they looked so peaceful. So she moved past the doorway, and padded softly down to her room, and started getting changed for bed.

Flo showed him the image of Mouse poking her head around the corner, then withdrawing again to get ready for bed. Well, that was one complication taken care of. Otto kissed the top of Robin's head and pulled away from her a little.

"Mouse is going to want to be tucked in here in a moment," he said. "Do you... do you want to stay the night?"

Robin grinned at him. "I certainly didn't come all this way just to pop my head in," she teased. Patting his chest, she went and tucked her head into Mouse's room. The girl was in her pajamas already, pulling back her covers.

The faerie kissed the child on the head as Mouse climbed up. "Sleep well," she said. Of course, with a faerie in the household, it would have been near impossible for Mouse _not_ to have slept well, but there was no need for her to know that.

Robin moved back so that Otto and Mouse could have their privacy. Otto was not an overly sentimental man, at least not to the casual eye, but she wouldn't have been surprised if he'd developed a ritual for Mouse's sake.

Mouse screwed on the lid to Bob's water after the octopus had climbed inside. He had been playing while she and Otto were away. Settling Tonto in beside her, she snuggled down into her pillows.

The bedtime story didn't take long- Mouse seemed to enjoy the one about the hungry caterpillar- and soon he was tucking her in, kissing her forehead, and turning out the lights, leaving only the little nightlight. The actuators each gave her their own good-night nuzzles, Mo even going so far as to duck under the bed to '_check for monsters nope none here_'

Otto turned down the lights in the main area of the apartment, the one he'd turned into a combination of living and lab space, and took off his goggles with a sigh. While they afforded him the best protection from inadvertent light exposure, they did weigh down on his face and could be uncomfortable after a while. Massaging the bridge of his nose, he sat on the couch, beckoning for Robin to join him.

Robin came and curled up next to him, tucking her feet under her. She frowned slightly at the creases the goggles left on his face. They looked uncomfortable. "Come here," she said, positioning the two of them so that she could gently massage the sore muscles in his face.

Her fingers gradually moved up into his scalp, then back down his neck to his shoulders. She was careful of the odd metal attachment in his spine, her deft fingers avoiding the area. Slowly, she began to feel Otto relax under her hands, and she smiled.

"You seem to be taking to the role of guardian well," she said, her voice full of soothing, relaxing tones. She'd sensed a bit of tension in the man-either from the weeks alone, or the encounter with the Spider, she wasn't sure. But she was more than happy to try to relieve it.

He'd started a bit when she shifted so that she was very nearly on his lap, but relaxed a moment later, letting himself enjoy the contact. It was very nice, and he obligingly tilted his head to direct her fingers to the sorest spots. She even knew to avoid the metal pseudospine that ran from the harness's girdle to the base of his spine, the housing for the link that connected his mind to that of the actuators.

Otto wrapped an arm around her waist. "I'm enjoying it more than I thought I would," he admitted. "She's surprisingly good company for a seven-year old."

"She seems like it," Robin said with a smile, moving so that she was sitting comfortably in his lap. She continued running her hands through his hair. She was such a sucker for a man with a great head of hair.

"The two of you seem to be doing well," she said. "Don't suppose you really need me after all. Except maybe for company."

Oh. Faerie on lap. Otto considered this for about a second before concluding that no, he really didn't want to object to that. And now she was running her hands through his hair- had she known that he liked that?

"I happen to be very fond of your company, Robin," he replied. It felt natural to resettle his hand so it rested lightly on her hip, so he did so.

"Glad to hear it, Doctor Octavius," Robin said, grinning mischievously. She hated to think she was doing any of this if he were _not_ fond of her company.

She leaned over, giving him a soft kiss. This was really the first time they'd ever been alone, in such a relaxed setting. Mouse had usually been up and about nearby. Though she wasn't really worried about it, Robin sent out a small sleep spell in the direction of the girl's room. Just enough to deepen her sleep and keep her from waking up at the slightest noise. She would really hate to be interrupted at this point.

The hand at her hip felt like it needed to stay there, so he used his other hand to cradle the back of her head and pull her closer, deepening the kiss. Otto let his mouth linger on hers for a long moment, just enjoying- her.

All four actuators remained silent throughout the process, both intrigued and a little perplexed at their human's behavior. Were they supposed to help, or something?

Robin felt something relax inside her, as she shifted into a more natural mode of behavior. Because...hell, she was a faerie. This was something that faeries did, quite frequently. If she had thought about it, it would have occurred to her that she had not done anything even remotely sexual with a human since just after meeting Otto. Which was pretty much a record, given the weeks they'd known each other.

Of course, so far everything about her interactions with Otto had been strange. Only petting and hugs and kisses...normally, Robin's only interactions with mortals involved a quick roll in the hay. But this slow progression-it was nice. It felt more meaningful, that he was comfortable enough with her to take these steps. She knew that getting closer with Rosie had helped, but still.

So she returned his kisses with equal pleasure. One of her hands slid from behind his neck to under the collar of his sweater, lightly caressing the skin there.

Faerie magic? Or simple human desire? Otto was fairly certain it was the second. If Robin had been bewitching him, why would she wait this long? God, this was nice. He'd never thought he'd want anyone after Rosie, but Robin... she was special.

He shivered a little at the feel of her fingers tracing along his neck, his own hand slipping lightly under the hem of her shirt. The skin of her waist and stomach was soft and warm, the curve inviting him to explore further.

"You really are beautiful," he murmured.

Robin had heard that a lot from humans. Normally, she smiled and reciprocated the compliment. But with most humans, she was playing the game, pretending to be mortal. Otto knew better. And somehow, from Otto, the phrase felt bitter in her stomach. He had asked her once, to see what she truly looked like. She had refused. Could she really risk him falling for her, without knowing the truth? Or should she just enjoy the moment, and let _him_ enjoy the moment?

But something in her couldn't stand the idea of showing him later, only to be spurned by him. She stopped kissing him, closing her eyes, enjoying the feel of his hands on her. "I'm not," she murmured. Faeries were supposed to be beautiful, weren't they? That's what the stories said. But the stories lied, and she lied, every moment of every day, by existing in a form that wasn't hers anymore. "I'm really not."

What was she talking about- oh, that was right. Her other shape. What had she said she was? A hobgoblin? Yes, that sounded right.

Having her on his lap was quite distracting.

She looked sad now, almost lost. Otto shifted so that he could hug her, saying nothing. He had no idea what _to_ say to that. If she was going to show him herself, then she would.

Robin rested her head against his shoulder for a moment. Then she started to chuckle. "Gods, I'm a downer," she said. This is what being celibate for weeks on end did to her. She should have been wanting to jump the man. Hell, she did want to jump him. But some part of her knew that it would _mean_ something, and she didn't mind that bit either. Cripes...she should have gotten herself laid before now, just to avoid the frustration.

She sighed, and looked at him. "Sorry. I'm usually not so good at ruining the moment."

Otto smiled and brushed a lock of hair from her eyes. "It's alright, Robin," he said, as Mo curled around to nuzzle her cheek. He wanted her, but he didn't want her upset. She was extraordinarily attractive, on many levels. Why not sleep with her?

He leaned in and kissed her. "You can show me if you want. Or not. It's up to you." He already had a vague impression of what she might look like- it wouldn't change what he felt.

Robin stared into his eyes for several moments, trying to discern something. "Would it matter to you?" she asked. "If I were a monster. Because that's what I am, under this pretty face. A terrible monster who's done terrible things." She rested a hand on the side of his face, lightly stroking his temple. Her bright green eyes were intense, lighter than normal with the heightened emotion. She studied him, expression old and curious.

Perhaps it wouldn't matter to him-not like with some men, who were only interested in a good lay. Otto wouldn't care for other reasons, because that was the sort of man he was. But if it did matter-that made him no less of a good person, in her mind. If anything, it meant he was wise and good. Smart enough to know that associating with monsters only turns one into either food or a predator themselves.

He smiled a little, mirroring her gesture and lightly stroking her cheek with his thumb. "I don't think so," he said after a moment. Was that a flicker of fear in her eyes? She certainly seemed to be feeling something that had her on edge. If it wasn't fear, it was probably complete apprehension.

Funny that she should be afraid of seeming a monster to him. Hadn't he been just the same, done terrible things himself? The context was different, to be sure, but that didn't change the fact that he'd been a monster.

She smiled at him, nuzzling his hand a little. He probably thought they were the same, that he was a monster as well. But he could not begin to imagine how she was viewed, in her world. What she was.

"You're a good man, Otto Octavius," she said seriously. "I don't want to end up hurting you." Nor did she ever want to see him hurt. He was _her_ mortal now, him and Mouse both, and no one touched those that were hers. But she knew humans well enough to know he was not like those she normally enjoyed the company of. He did not throw himself at any passing female-not even when he had been normal himself. She did not want him to fall in love with her when she had no way of reciprocating.

"You won't," he told her. That, he believed. She wouldn't hurt him or Mouse.

He kissed her again, resting his forehead against hers. "All I'm saying, you don't need to be afraid of yourself on _my_ account. I'm a big boy, Robin."

"Mhmm..." Robin leaned into him, inhaling deeply. She loved his scent. "Big boy in the human world. Just a child in mine." It was true. But still, if any mortal could handle the truth of her, it would be him.

She kissed him again, something between a growl and a purr rising from her throat. "But if you're sure you don't mind..."

He shivered a little, that half-purr-half-growl eliciting a very pleasurable sensation low in his belly. That was a downright _fascinating_ sound. Otto returned her kiss with considerably more enthusiasm than before.

"I don't mind," he replied.

Well...humans always did enjoy feeling a little more primal in their instincts. Robin matched his enthusiasm, adding a little wiggle in her hips. She was in this position for two reasons-it was comfortable, and convenient.

And he seemed sure of himself. At least, enough so that it didn't matter for now. So Robin pushed the issue from her mind, and decided to enjoy the moment for what it was.

Alright, she'd made up her mind. That was fine with him- she'd chosen an excellent method of distracting him. His curiosity on that matter could wait. There were other things to attend to right now.

He pulled her closer to him, running his hands freely along her sides with their graceful curves.

Robin gave herself back over to the rhythm of things, running one hand through his hair and letting the other slip beneath his shirt again. He was warmer than most humans-something to do with the actuators, she supposed-but she didn't mind.

Otto was a bit out of practice with this sort of thing, but he remembered how it went. With a feeling of anticipation, he settled in for a very pleasant evening.


	11. Chapter 10: Why Kidnapping is a Bad Idea

A/N: In which Mouse gets kidnapped, Robin has some fun of the bloody variety, and Robin and Otto does the nasty. Torbert flash-back inspired from a picture in Doc Ock: Year One, because the shadow of his father reminded us of the hobgoblin.

If you want a great picture of what the hobgoblin Robin looks like, go check out SilverGryphon8's deviantArt account.

Disclaimer: We still own very little of these guys. Mostly they just humor us.

Warnings: There is some bloody violence in this chapter. And then there's some hanky panky. Older teens and up, only.

* * *

Chapter 10: Why Kidnapping a Small Octavius is a Bad Idea

Mouse carefully put her library books in her bag, doubled checked to make sure she had her library card, and slid on her shoes. Tightening the Velco straps, she put the bag over her shoulder, and headed out of her room. It was Wednesday, and that meant Library Day.

She had been thrilled when Otto had taken her to the library for the first time. There was one only a few blocks from their new apartment-not the biggest one, which Otto said was further into the city, but a smaller one. Mouse thought it was huge all on its own, having never seen so many books at once. The children's room was an absolute dream. Mouse loved books, even though she couldn't read them. She loved the feel of them, and just to look at the pictures and make up the stories as she went.

Not long after they had moved, Otto had taken her to the library, and got Mouse her very own library card. She had even gotten to sign it herself, in shaky childish letters. _Maggie Ercher_. Not her real name, but a pretend one. Otto had explained it all to her, and she knew that he used a pretend name out in public, for the same reasons that he had to hide the actuators when they went out. Mouse didn't know all of it, but she knew that people would be afraid of him, and that he would get taken away if anyone knew who he was. So they played pretend when they went out. He still called her Mouse, so it was really only on paper.

Besides, her name _had_ been Maggie, once upon a time. No one had called her that for long, but that was what it had been. So she had signed her name proudly to the card, and it was hers. After that, Wednesday had been Library Day. She often went by herself, to return books and go to Story Time. The children's librarian sometimes told her that she was the perfect library visitor, because she never made any noise at all.

Sometimes Otto would give her a list of things he needed, and she would give it to the librarians, and they would find it for her. Most of the time she just sat in one of the big chairs in the children's room, looking at picture books, until it was time to go. Wednesdays were her favorite mornings-she could go for Story Time, stay and look, then come home for lunch.

She poked her head into the lab, where it looked like Otto was getting started on his projects for the day. Larry came over to her, and she petted him, letting him nuzzle her face.

The happy chirp of the actuator was the loudest herald of Mouse's arrival. Otto had been keeping a running tally of which of the two females in his life moved more quietly, and so far, Mouse was winning. Robin could be devastatingly silent when she wanted, but anytime she was around she was usually chatting, or making some other kind of noise. Mouse still moved like her namesake.

"Hey," Otto said, smiling as he looked up from his workbench. "That's right, it's Wednesday, isn't it? Going to the library?"

Mouse nodded, and tapped a finger on the journals Otto had gotten a couple of weeks ago. "Ready to go?" she asked.

She looked over at Robin, who was reclined on the couch like a lazy cat. The faerie gave her a half wave and a smile.

"Some of them," he replied. He sorted out the ones he was finished with and handed them to her. "And if you could see if they have these, please?" Mo offered the child a piece of paper with a list of titles scribbled on it-mostly the latest editions of various scientific journals. The librarians would be able to find what he needed. It was a decent system, all things told.

He gave Mouse a hug. "Have fun," he said. "Back home in time for lunch, you know the drill."

Mouse nodded, hugging him back, and waved to Robin. She smiled to herself as she left the apartment. Otto was happy with Robin there. She just hoped that the faerie woman didn't have to go away again soon.

It was a chilly morning, but not too cold. Mouse moved along happily, taking her shortcuts and getting to the library quickly. The librarian read _Otto Goes to the Beach_, which made Mouse grin. The image of Otto in swim trunks at the beach, with the actuators making sand castles made her giggle softly.

After Story Time, she went to the big front desk, and handed her list to the librarian there. The older woman was growing familiar with the little girl and her father's tastes, and found the journals, checking them out and handing them over to the quiet girl. All of the normal Wednesday staff knew the child by sight, noticeable only by the fact that she never spoke. Chalking her up as being abnormally shy, they wished all of the children could be more like her.

Two hours passed quickly, and Mouse checked out the books that she had decided on for this week. She waved a goodbye to the children's librarian, and headed out on her way.

It had gotten a little cooler while she'd been inside, gray clouds hanging heavy in the sky. Mouse looked up and wondered if they would get any snow soon. The young girl was normally quite observant about her surroundings, but today she was happy and content, and wondering if Otto would make her a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch. She didn't notice that she was being followed, not in the throngs of New Yorkers-not even when she ducked into her shortcut, taking the alleys that ran behind a few store fronts and crossed back near their building.

The past several weeks of observation had given them a good idea of the child's routine, and that of her 'father'. They had determined that the best way to get to Doctor Otto Octavius was by going through the little girl known as Mouse. She was the vulnerable one in the group, and they knew Ock would do anything to get her back.

That was what their employer was counting on.

Montana, leader of the Enforcers, slipped after the little girl as she headed into the back road of alleys. Normally, he would have taken her on her way to the library rather than from it, to allow himself the maximum amount of time to get away before her disappearance would have been noted, but the aim this time was to have Ock follow after her. Being just a teeny bit sloppy would ensure he'd pick up her trail.

_Sorry 'bout this, kid,_ he thought as he uncoiled his lasso and started whirling it, a syringe of a fast-acting sedative tucked into his other hand. _Just business._ He let the loop of rope fly. As if he'd been guiding it telekinetically, the lasso dropped over the child's shoulders and pulled tight, yanking her off her feet.

Most children would have shrieked, or at the very least cried out. But every instinct of Mouse's paralyzed her vocal cords, locking her into silence. Her bag slipped out of her grasp, the strap hanging to her only by the lasso. After a few feet of dragging, the bag pulled free.

Mouse scrambled for a hand or foot hold, twisting her head back to see the strange man reeling her in. Her hand closed over a bottle, and she threw it in the man's direction. The other hand tugged at the rope, trying to slip it up and over her head before the man had her.

But then she felt a hand at the knot in her back. She strained against the rope, rolling to get her feet under her and pulling as hard as she could. But there was a sharp sting in her neck, and her limbs sudden felt heavy.

Mouse collapsed, looking up at the rooftops in a vain hope of seeing Robin popping out of nowhere. Or Otto, if he'd decided he needed something from the store. Maybe he would be out. Or even that pesky Spiderman. He was supposed to be a hero, wasn't he?

As the strange man hoisted her up and over his shoulder, Mouse caught sight of her bag, lying in the alleyway. Darkness crept into her vision, and her last thought was that some of the books had fallen out, and that the librarians would be mad if they got dirty.

Tiny as the girl was, it didn't take long for the sedative to knock her out. Montana waited for her struggles to cease entirely before untangling her from the lasso, stowing it and the syringe. Then he picked her up, letting her lay against his shoulder as if she were his own daughter. Who noticed a dad carrying his kid?

He headed back down the alley, leaving her bookbag where it lay. If that didn't get Ock's attention, nothing would. A half-block from the abduction site was a parking lot. Heading for one particular small sedan, Montana buckled the girl into the backseat and drove off.

Easy as pie.

Robin was quite enjoying herself, watching Otto work in a proper lab space. She had always found the actuators fascinating, but watching them move around the scientist was incredible. Still, a faerie in a lab was bound to cause a few problems. After very nearly causing something that certainly _looked_ scientific to blow up, Robin retreated from the lab space, to see what she could rustle together for lunch.

"When does Mouse usually get back?" She asked, coming around the doorway of the kitchen to look in the lab.

"About noon," Otto replied, not looking up from splicing two bits of wire together. Flo hovered right at his shoulder, letting him look through her camera. It was easy enough to do once he got used to having his viewpoint be slightly to the right of his hands. Beside him, the other three worked at cleaning some tiny circuit boards recovered from the junkyard Mouse had found for them. "Why?"

Robin glanced over her shoulder to the kitchen clock, though she didn't really need to in order to know the time. Frowning, she pushed off the doorway. "It's nearly 12:30," she said.

A bad feeling began stirring in the faerie's gut. Mouse was a responsible child, as far as she could tell. If Otto had told her to be home by noon, then she would be. Which led to the conclusion that something was probably wrong.

"It is?"

That made Otto look up, a frown furrowing his brown behind the heavy goggles. Mouse was never late. She didn't quite know how all the numbers on the clock worked, but if Otto pointed out where the hands would be when he wanted her home, she always got back on time.

_mouse late never late something wrong_

Perhaps that would be a bit of a stretch for most people, but Otto had developed a healthy streak of mild paranoia over the past year and a half. If Mouse wasn't here, than something was wrong.

"Come on," he told Robin, going to grab his coat and hat. "We need to go look for her."

Robin couldn't agree more. She followed Otto up the balcony and to the roof, as they retraced Mouse's route. Robin had Mouse's scent, and moved over the air, sharp eyes searching for any clue of the child.

Otto made a noise, and she turned to see him move down into the alley that Mouse apparently took as a shortcut. Robin saw what he had seen-a scattered messenger bag, a few picture books and a scientific journal trailing out of it. Something in Robin's gut went hard and cold, and she followed the man down, sniffing the air to try and catch a hint of what had happened.

Mouse's bag. No Mouse.

His hands shook as he came up to the spot where the bag, with its load of books spilling out of it like eviscerated organs, lay on the concrete. There were some scuffs in the dust as well- it almost looked like Mouse had tripped and dropped the bag. And then-

A few faint impressions from larger feet, mostly destroyed by the scuff marks. It was easy to tell what had happened.

"Someone took her," he whispered.

Robin's hands clenched into fists. Green eyes turned hobgoblin red, and claws began to emerge at the end of delicate hands. It was all she could do not to lose her outer Glamour completely.

An animalistic growl rose from her throat. Someone had taken the child-a child she'd promised to protect. That person was going to die.

She watched Otto scoop up the books and the bag carefully, almost reverently. But she had the man's scent, the one who had taken their Mouse, and she wasn't waiting any longer. "Got him," she growled. "Come on." The faerie moved up the side of the building, and over the top, not even looking back to see if the mortal was following.

_claws eyes woah_ Mo's tone sounded impressed. Otto ignored the actuator and followed his faerie companion up and over the building. He silently cursed the fact that it was broad daylight. If anyone spotted them...

That wasn't important. Being seen didn't matter. They had to find Mouse, and if Robin could track the scent, so much the better.

Robin moved, ears back against her head, her teeth sharpening and growing longer. They paused on a roof top overlooking a parking lot. Leaving Otto on the roof, Robin descended. She stalked around the lot, sniffing hard, snarling at the few pedestrians who got in her way. After pacing around the same spot for several seconds, she returned to the rooftop.

"Car," she snarled. squatting on the roof's edge, hands over feet. "I can't track them through a car. Not by scent." She cocked her head sharply to the side, eyes flickering between green and red. "Have you got a picture? I can ask the attendant if he saw her."

He shook his head, curiously eying the changes in her teeth and ears. "No photographs," he replied. "But the actuators have her image. We can upload it to the computer and bring it back." His mind seemed to have switched over from brooding fury to an icy numbness. At the moment, Otto heartily preferred the latter. It kept his mind functioning, and it might help him keep Robin from shredding someone.

He gestured to his own ear and arched his eyebrows at her. "You're slipping," he pointed out. "Fix it before we talk to anyone."

Robin half growled at him, but realized that he was right. She couldn't afford to give over to her hobgoblin side now. Better to wait until after they'd caught the bastard.

She stood, and closed her eyes. Shaking out her hair, the subtle changes dissipated. Claws turned back to fingers, and when she opened her eyes, they were green again.

"Then let's go," she said. "Human memories are fallible at best. She wasn't taken long ago-if we hurry they may remember seeing her."

She hopped off the ledge, and turned to start back towards the apartment. Again, she kept her speed slow enough to keep pace with Otto. She half toyed with the idea of simply grabbing him and running, but that could get messy with the actuators.

It didn't take them long to return. Otto went straight to the computer. Robin paced, then looked up sharply. There was an unfamiliar scent in the apartment. Faint, but there. She followed it to the front door. A plain white envelope had been slid under the door. Picking it up, Robin sniffed it as she took it to Otto. Not the same man who'd taken Mouse, but not one she recognized as belonging to another occupant of the building.

"This was in the hall," she said, handing it to Otto.

He took the envelope from her, leaving the actuators to sort through the images on the screen. They knew the sort of picture he was looking for, one that could be tweaked slightly to look like a digital photo.

"What is this..." Larry helpfully slit the envelope open so he could tug out the contents. A piece of ordinary printer paper, with an address typed on it. "West Thirty-Second and Falkner?"

The kidnappers, he realized. There had to be more than one- one to capture Mouse, another to leave the note. They'd left a goddamn address. "It's a trap."

A cold, eerie smile crept over Robin's face. It stretched a little wider than a human smile should, and her teeth again gleamed bright and sharp. It was a predator's smile, the smile of a creature secure in the knowledge that they were at the top of the food chain, and nothing natural could tear them down.

"Good," she said. Holding up a hand, she examined her claws, again stretching from the ends of her fingers. "We'll make it a trap for them." And rip every one of the bastards to shreds.

Otto smiled as well, in a way that would have been familiar to anyone who'd had a run-in with Doctor Octopus. It was an expression that had triggered many a set of suddenly-wet pairs of underwear. The actuators curled around him, hissing and snapping their jaws. They were looking forward to snapping some spines. And rending some limbs. And eviscerating a few torsos.

"My dear Robin, I do like the way you think."

Someone had Mouse. Someone was going to pay.

And he had to admit to himself, Robin was quite sexy when she was pissed off.

Some women were romanticized by flowers and poetry. Robin was quite fond of the willingness to shed a little blood.

"What are we waiting for?" she asked. The duo headed out the balcony again. This time Otto took the lead, having a greater familiarity with the names of streets and which were which. When they descended on an old warehouse, not unlike the one that Otto and Mouse had lived in, Robin was only just barely hanging on to her human façade. Her ears were longer and more pointed, and her eyes were more red than green.

Otto would have put a hand on her shoulder to get her attention, but the way her eyes flickered between their usual green and a bloody scarlet like the actuators' heartlights made him think better of that idea. Just because you weren't afraid of a shark didn't mean you stuck your hand in its mouth.

"We count four people in there," he said in a low voice. "Mouse is on a platform in the center. Now, I'd rather not have her see us make more of a mess than necessary. I'll get her out, and then we'll take care of things."

With only three enemies inside, Otto was certain he could do this himself. Indeed, some part of him sneered at the very thought of needing anyone's help in a fight- since when did Doctor Octopus play the team-up game? Team-ups were for heroes, like Spiderman and Daredevil, not for him.

Alright, so he'd teamed up once or twice in the months before he'd met Mouse, back when he'd hired on with certain crime lords. But that didn't mean he _liked_ working with others.

The look in Robin's flashing eyes, however, made it clear that cutting her out of the fun was not an option. Besides, she'd gotten herself all dressed up for the occasion. It wouldn't be fair to deny her the treat of ripping open the men who'd kidnapped Mouse.

Robin nearly rolled her eyes at him. As if she needed him to tell her what was happening inside. The scents were enough, as were the sounds of three adults moving around. Still, she smiled a feral smile.

"Perfect," she said. "I'll be sure to leave you something to play with."

She crouched at the edge of the skylight, claws clicking against the glass in anticipation. Then Otto had jumped, and she went after him, landing in a crouch.

Mouse lay on her side, curled up what had probably been a loading dock at some point. She was only barely awake, blinking against the light filtering through the windows. Her body felt heavy, and all of the sounds were stretched and out of sync. She was distantly aware of rope rubbing on her wrists, as she tried to cox her limbs into moving.

There was a loud crash, and Mouse managed to turn her head enough to see a blurry shape that looked like Otto landing on the ground. She tried to smile, but was too tired. She really just wanted to go back to sleep. But she wanted Otto to know she was okay.

Montana hadn't expected the girl to come with Ock too. But there she was, jumping in right after him. If that even was the girl- she looked awfully weird right about now, with her eyes glowing red like a coyote's. Damned unnatural, that was.

Before the two had time to react, Fancy Dan had shot across the warehouse so fast that Montana could barely see him. The suited little man slammed into Ock and ricocheted away. Ock went sprawling, his metal tentacles flailing helplessly. The goggles he'd been wearing were knocked off his face as the man swore.

"Get 'im!" Montana yelled. He raised his gloved hands and pointed at Ock and his freaky little girlfriend. Two bursts of concussive force blasted into them as they struggled to get reoriented, followed by the charging Ox.

Robin had to jump and dodge the actuators once Otto was hit by a surprisingly fast human. Then the air itself pushed them back as she prepared to jump the man. Otto yelled as his goggles were thrown from his face. But Robin waved a hand, and they were returned to their proper place. Shaking her head to clear it from the blast, Robin rolled to her feet, and upped her speed.

The human in the fancy suit might have been too fast for human eyes, but not for her. To her, he was still crawling. She moved with a grin. Landing on the human's back, she grabbed a fistful of his hair and yanked. "Naughty boys shouldn't cheat at their own games," she whispered in his ear.

She wrapped her feet-now furry clawed hobgoblin feet-around his waist, and twisted. With a violent jerk, the man's upper body twisted with her, and there was a satisfying crunch of metal and the subtler snap of his spine. Jumping off him for now-she could come back for more fun later-she let him collapse in a cry of agony.

Another of the hard blasts hit her in the back, and she flipped forward, trying to roll in the air with the force. Robin landed hard, snarling. She eyed the man who was firing the pulses, and threw a Glamour blast to knock him off his feet. See how _he_ liked it...

Otto's back was complaining as he scrambled to his feet, but he ignored the twinges. No time to focus on that, not when there was a behemoth charging at him, clearly intent on squashing him.

_not today no octopus roadkill for you buddy_

Otto braced himself with the lower actuators and directed the upper two to deal with the oncoming attacker. With a mental sniff of derision, Flo and Mo yanked the man off-course, slinging him into the wall. Now that they had a breather, they could fetch what they came for.

He rushed to the platform where Mouse lay. Quickly scanning the girl, Flo assured him that she was alright, just drugged. This was no place for her to wait for it to wear off. Otto scooped her up and was on the move again, dodging a third blast as he rushed for the skylight.

Mouse's brain registered that she was moving, and a glimpse of actuator told her that Otto had her. Weak fingers managed to gain a little bit of a hold on his coat, and she closed her eyes as she fell back asleep.

Robin moved so fast that human eyes could barely track her blur. She threw more Glamour blasts at the man firing at Otto, giving him cover as he moved to get Mouse out of the way.

As Otto cleared the roof, Robin let her human façade fall away. Time to show these stupid little boys who they were messing with.

Cradling Mouse against his shoulder, Otto quickly went to the rooftop of the next warehouse over, where he hoped she'd be well clear of anything that happened on the battlefield. He kissed the sleeping girl's forehead and set her down in the middle of a broad flat expanse where she wouldn't inadvertently roll off. She'd be safe enough here until he and Robin finished.

The actuators snapped, hissing and screeching. Mouse was safe. Time to go have some fun at the expense of others. They were ready to tear and wrench and crush.

Otto, for his part, was ready to let them.

He didn't bother to cross the roof to the skylight this time. He simply had Mo and Harry rip up a section of roofing to create a hole, which they then dropped through.

One moment, Montana was watching Ox 'dance' with the Ock's freaky girlfriend, who definitely wasn't a pretty little thing anymore. The next, a two-by-four swung by a giant had hit him in the back.

That wasn't a two-by-four, he realized as he tumbled. It was one of Ock's damn tentacles.

A cold, predatory sneer spread across the scientist's face. Thought they could kidnap Doctor Octopus's daughter, did they? He'd show them. He'd teach them that _no one_ touched his Mouse.

An actuator shot forward and snatched up the man in the red-and-yellow suit, tossing him into the air like a rag doll. Like a striking snake, it then darted up to catch him and slam him into the floor. Boards crunched under the impact.

"Hah!" The laugh was harsh, devoid of any human warmth, like a triumphant crow.

_Think you can toy with __me__, do you? Nobody messes with me and lives to tell the tale. Never again._

A cold, ancient hobgoblin laugh filled the air. The Puck was most pleased by this side of her lover. She leaped up, causing the Ox-man to run under her and into a post. Extending her claws, Robin crouched, her needle-sharp teeth glimmering in the dim light of the warehouse.

"'I'll follow you, I'll lead you about a round, Through bog, through bush, through brake, through brier,'" she quoted softly. An ominous whispering wind swirled through the warehouse. She grabbed Ox's shoulder, claws biting through the metal of his suit.

"'Sometime a horse I'll be, sometime a hound/a hog, a headless bear, sometime a fire...'" Robin pushed him to the ground, and jumped into a squat on his chest. Her red eyes glowed, her smile stretching beyond human standards.

"'And neigh, and bark, and grunt, and roar, and burn...'" With every sound, she slashed into his suit. Thin rivets of blood began to run free. Ox whimpered, starring up at this monsterous creature. The idea that she had once been a pretty young woman was now laughable.

Robin ripped a hole free in the suit. There were sparks, but she ignored them. With savage force, she plunged her claws into Ox's body, through his diaphragm, in the space just below his heart, and in between his lungs. He screamed once.

"'Like horse, hound, hog, bear, fire, at every turn,'" Robin finished. She calmly licked the blood from her claws, as the man struggled to breathe. But with his diaphragm muscle gone, there wasn't much hope for that.

He watched, sneering, as the actuators flung their hapless victim first one way, than another, sheer centrifugal force popping joints and snapping tendons even inside the protection of the padded suit. No amount of padding would save you when you were being manhandled by the actuators. He was quite pleased to be able to teach this insolent bastard just that.

The cries eventually stopped, and Flo hurled the man across the warehouse one last time. Otto turned to track the man's flight. Then he froze as he saw- _it_. The biggest monster of his memories, a shadowed figure with hair standing on end, for a moment looking much, much bigger than it had any right to, eyes blazing.

_The monster looms large over him, belt in one hand, the stink of alcohol emanating from the beer can it had crushed in its other meaty fist._

_He cringes back, broken glasses in hand, hoping that he can avoid the monster's wrath but knowing he can't. This is one monster he can't hide from._

_"You think I can afford a new pair of glasses every month?" the monster roars. It raises its hand. He sees the light glinting off the metal belt buckle, and knows how much it will hurt when it strikes him._

_"You're raising a coward, Mary!" the monster continues. "Look at him! Too scared to even look at his old man!"_

_It was true- he can't look at the monster as it looms over him and grabs him by the scruff of the neck. But he can't hold back a terrified whimper. He knows what's coming._

_"YOU LOOK AT ME WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU, BOY!"_

Robin stood, and gracefully hopped off the body. She licked her hand, cleaning her fur of blood and muscle. Then she caught sight of Otto looking at her. The expression on his face was full of terror and haunting. Robin's ears flattened, and she slipped back into her human form.

For a moment her control wavered, and she stepped behind a column to gather herself. Taking a deep breath, she approached Otto carefully, making sure her human face was firmly in place.

He was whispering to himself, wide eyes still staring at something that was no longer there. Robin almost fled-there had been a reason she hadn't wanted him to see her true shape. Not quite looking at him directly, she stayed a few feet away from him, hands in her pockets.

"Sorry," she said softly.

He was whimpering in spite of himself as he struggled to throw off the memory of Torbert Octavius. "I'll be good," he whispered to thin air. "Please, I won't break them again, I promise-"

Pain flared above his elbow, and something metallic screeched in his ear. Otto jumped- and the vision was gone. No Torbert, no belt, no ineffectual mother pleading in the background. No broken glasses. Just the warehouse, the stink of blood and other, less pleasant things. Just the actuators, curled around him and chattering both aloud and in his mind with concern. Just Robin. No monster.

No Torbert.

"Robin," he whispered, closing his eyes as he tried to reassure himself and slow his pounding heart. "_Robin._ Not him."

Robin wasn't sure what he meant by that. She just awkwardly patted his arm, still not quite looking at him. "Come on," she said. "Best get Mouse home."

Her face was flushed with embarrassment. It didn't help that Oberon was prodding her, trying to find out why exactly she'd gone feral on mortals.

She could see enough of his eyes behind the goggles to see them refocus, and she turned her back on him and headed up to the skylight. Robin didn't have the nerve to face her lover right now, when he'd seen her like...that.

_she's right get mouse home make sure she's safe wake up otto nightmare over_

Otto shuddered and nodded, the reaction coming automatically despite the fact that the actuators could sense his mental assent. He'd thought he was finished being tormented by his father. It seemed that the opposite was true, not if a sidelong glimpse of Robin in her true form could trigger a flashback that strong. Damnit. He _hated_ getting little flashes like that out of the corner of his eye.

Taking a deep breath to try and steady his nerves, Otto returned to the rooftop where Mouse still lay drowsing. Fortunately, she hadn't been out long enough to get chilled- the entire fight had taken only a few minutes, and he'd taken care to leave her on a patch of metal that had been in the sun for several hours. He gathered his daughter up and hugged her tightly, before removing the ropes from her limbs. This was reality- the cold winter day, the actuators swarming around him, the little girl asleep in his arms. Torbert was a dream, a memory, nothing more substantial.

_time to go home_

Yes, definitely time to go home. Mouse should at least wake up in her own room.

They returned home over the rooftops at a slower pace than they had taken to the warehouse. Once there, Otto tucked Mouse into her bed and sat by her, head in hands.

Robin lingered at the warehouse as Otto took Mouse home. One of the mortals was still alive, albeit paralyzed. And they needed information before he was put out of his misery.

When the bodies were found the next day, there wasn't much for the police to work with. It was concluded that they had been attacked by wild dogs, and DNA testing confirmed their identities. The police decided not to question what sort of wild dogs could have torn through the metal of the strange suits.

She detoured to a mansion in the upper part of the state, where a collector had a particularly fine Scotch obsession. After lifting a few of the finer bottles from his collection, as well as a box of cigars, Robin headed back to Otto's apartment.

The gifts were left on the lab table. For a moment Robin considered leaving, but instead she drifted over to the doorway of Mouse's bedroom. "She alright?" she asked softly.

He looked up as she arrived, and nodded. "Still sleeping," he said. "I hope not too much longer."

Getting to his feet, he went to her. He'd exchanged the heavy goggles for his sunglasses, which were both more comfortable to wear and allowed Robin to see more of his expression. He'd come to a conclusion while he'd been sitting with his daughter, and he needed to act on it as soon as possible, before he lost the nerve.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked the faerie quietly. His eyes were fixed intently upon her.

A flicker of fear crossed Robin's face, before she shoved it away and nodded. "Of course," she said softly, as they walked into the lab. She spun slowly to face him, and tried to look as non-threatening as possible.

This was it. He was going to tell her that he'd been wrong, that her monstrous being was too much for him. That he didn't want her around him or his daughter anymore. And she would tell him that she understood, and disappear from their lives quietly. And then go find something that she could rip into.

Damn, this wasn't going to be easy for her either. Especially since Otto didn't know if he could tell her about the exact reason he needed her to do this. How would she react if she knew that a badly-timed glimpse of her hobgoblin self had triggered such memories of his father?

He rested his hands on her shoulders and lightly kissed her forehead, hoping to reassure her a little bit. He was not about to tell her to get the hell out of his life. If he'd had to guess, that was what she was afraid of right now.

"I need to see you," he said quietly. "Please, Robin. I need to see what you look like."

Robin frowned, and blinked at him. Not what she had been expecting, exactly. Maybe he was on the fence about the decision to have her leave, and needed to assure himself that he was doing the right thing. Very well, she could give him that.

"Alright," she said softly. Stepping back from him, she lowered her Glamour, and stood still for him to examine.

The female hobgoblin was not terribly different from her male counterpart. Triangular face, with long pointed ears. Her eyes were red, with fine, needle-sharp teeth and wicked claws. Course brown fur covered her body, thinner in some places than others. The hobgoblin always had a wicked joy in being naked before the world, instead of covered by Glamour. But Robin shoved away its bloody desires-thankfully not so strong, so soon after the massacre.

Otto studied the creature before him, forcing himself to memorize every detail. Now that he got a good look, he wondered how he could have mistaken the hobgoblin for the shadow of his father. This creature was small and slight, with an almost feline cast to her features. The only real similarity that Otto could see was the way the crest of long hair stuck up on her head. Torbert's hair had done much the same thing.

Torbert, though, had never worn such a look of wicked glee.

At last, Otto nodded. He'd seen enough. Now if he caught a glimpse of the hobgoblin, his memory would be able to fill in the blanks with what was actually there rather than with a conjured demon.

"Thank you, Robin," he told her. "I've seen enough."

The hobgoblin shimmered out of view, to be replaced by the woman. Robin stuck her hands in her pockets awkwardly. "Would you like for me to go?" she asked.

Otto frowned for a moment, puzzled by the question. Then he realized that she must think he'd asked her to show herself because he wanted to ask her to leave.

"What do you think?" he asked, stepping forward and kissing her firmly.

Robin stepped back to catch herself, but quickly returned the kiss. She growled softly in the back of her throat, increasing the intensity a little. The hobgoblin had had its kill. Now it wanted sex.

She leaned forward, kissing Otto hungrily. It was almost more a mark of possession than a simple expression of love. "Are you hungry? We missed lunch." She was hungry. The scent of blood had gotten her ravenous. Of course, there was something else she was hungry for too. But now did not seem to be the appropriate time.

He blinked and returned the kiss, a little surprised at her vehemence but not unhappy with it. It was quite a kiss. Combine that with the way she was playing with his hair, and he had a pretty good idea of at least part of what was going through her mind.

He really would have liked to watch her work. Pity.

"I'm not very hungry," he admitted. "And I was thinking," he added softly, "That we could actually use the bedroom this time."

Robin stood, wrapping her arms around his neck, and kissed him again. "Bedrooms are nice," she said with a grin. "Didn't think you even had a bed."

"So I don't always make it from the lab to the bed before falling asleep," he replied, chuckling. "But it's there. I'll show you."

He'd gotten the impression from her that her usual trysts were conducted in a far different manner than what they had. This time, he thought she might like something a bit closer to what she probably was used to. With a twist or two.

He kissed her briefly, then stepped back, directing Mo and Harry to coil around her shoulders and hips and lift her off the floor. Smirking a little, he carried her to the bedroom and deposited her on the bed.

"See? I have a bed."

Robin raised an eyebrow at him, a mischievous smile on her face and a faintly hungry look in her eyes. "Indeed you do. It's very comfortable."

Propped up on her elbows, she wagged her eyebrows, and most of her clothes vanished in green shimmers. She was left in a set of lacy red undergarments, looking at Otto expectantly.

_Oh._ Now there was a trick. Otto had to grin at the view, which had just come along much earlier than he'd expected.

"Very nice," he told her, reaching over to run a hand across her lower leg before turning his attention to the obnoxiously complicated business of getting his sweater off. It was always more trouble than it was worth threading the actuators through the holes in the back.

Robin decided that his clothes would be too much trouble. At least the sweater. So she snapped her fingers, and it was gone, from his back to hanging in the closet.

She left his pants. Somehow, she never got tired of watching men take their pants off for her.

Well, that certainly made things easier. Flo swiveled around to see where the sweater had gotten to and spotted it in the closet. Good. He was rather fond of that sweater. He didn't want anything to happen to it.

He undid his trousers and stepped out of them, joining Robin on the bed and pulling her into a kiss.

Robin returned the kiss eagerly, something between a purr and a growl rising from her throat. At least now they were getting somewhere.


	12. Chapter 11: After the Party

A/N: So, this and chapter 11 was originally one big chapter, but it was just too big. So here ya go.

Disclaimer: Still own nothing. Sorry.

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Chapter 12: After the Party

Later, after leaving Otto asleep on the bed, she stood on the balcony of the apartment. The late November air played with her hair. She pulled a cigarette out of a pocket, and snapped her fingers to produce a flame. A bit cliché, having a cigarette after sex...but then, she had been the one to make it so popular.

She dragged on the cigarette, and didn't bother to turn her head when a dark figure in a purple coat appeared beside her. "Was wondering when you were going to show up," she said.

Oberon leaned on the railing next to his changeling. "You weren't answering. Thought I'd better come down and see what the damage was." He looked her over carefully. There were no outward signs of the hobgoblin, and she seemed perfectly relaxed. Which only meant one thing. "I hope it was with good reason."

Robin shrugged. "They took the girl. Couldn't let them get away with that, now could I?" She took a long drag off the cigarette.

He sighed, and looked out over the city. It was a sight he didn't get very often. "You're getting attached to them," he said simply. It was an observation-one he wasn't terribly pleased with. Robin gave a noncommittal shrug, tapping her cigarette on the railing.

"I suppose," she answered. Oberon fixed his gaze on her, rich brown eyes with a touch of gold reflecting next to dark skin.

"I'm worried," he added, his tone indicating that she ought to be taking this seriously. Robin tilted her head and raised an eyebrow at him.

"I know what I'm doing."

Now Oberon raised an eyebrow. "Need I remind you that you went _feral_ earlier? I know you, Puck. You don't do that for all your mortals."

Robin looked down, rolling her eyes a little. "It's not like I _ate_ anyone," she muttered.

He held her gaze for a long moment. "I don't want you to get hurt."  
Robin waved off the concern. "I won't. I never get hurt. They die, I move on. Just trying to enjoy them while they're here is all." There was a touch of bitterness in her voice, but Oberon chose to ignore it. He had a bad feeling that this time was going to be different. Part of him wanted to whisk her off, and forbid her from coming here again. But it would take an outright order to achieve that, and Oberon rather hated forcing Puck to do something that she didn't want to do. He liked to try to be her friend before he was her king, even though he knew, realistically, that he would always be the latter first.

"Just be careful," he said softly. He leaned over, kissed her head, and was gone.

The faerie sighed, finishing off her cigarette. The butt disappeared with the flick of a wrist. She stretched against the railing, and went back inside. She could do with something of a nap herself.

The actuators looked at the faerie as she wandered back into the bedroom, heads cocked. They were silent as they did so. Flo moved towards Robin, glancing in the direction of the balcony with a questioning tilt to her 'head'. They knew someone had been there with her. They wanted to know who. People weren't supposed to get to that balcony. The fact that faeries obviously could irritated the four sentient tentacles.

"Oh relax," Robin said, patting the nearest actuator head. "It was just Oberon. He was checking in on me." Making sure she wasn't planning on leaving more bodies in her wake, more than likely. She shook her head a little as she slid onto the bed, curling up beside Otto. She watched the sleeping man fondly for a moment, running a hand over his head and lightly kissing his temple. Then she closed her eyes to take a nap herself.

When Mouse woke up, it was starting to get dark outside. She lay in her bed a moment, confused as to how she had gotten there. Her kidnapping might have been written off as a dream, if not for the dirt streaks on her shoes and slightly scraped fingers. The child stared at her ceiling, thinking about what had happened. Wondering how it could have all gone so wrong.

She swallowed hard, and rubbed her eyes. Her head felt groggy, her tongue too thick. Her body still ached slightly, from laying still for so long. Mouse slowly pushed herself up to a sitting position. She reached for Tonto, settled him in her lap, and started thinking.

It was habit for her to blame this sort of thing on herself. Mouse didn't know why the man had taken her, or any of that. She only knew that she had been happy, and careless, and stupid. She should have paid more attention. She should have been more careful. This whole thing, somehow or another, was her fault.

Tears started to prickle at the edges of her eyes. Charlie, an old homeless man in Hell's Kitchen, had told her once that there was only so much happiness in the world to go around. There were too many people, and not enough happiness. That's why some people got to live bright, shiny, happy lives, and others, like him and her, had to take what they could get. Because some people just weren't meant to be happy.

Mouse wondered if that's why the bad man had taken her. She had dared to be happy-happier than she was supposed to be. By living with Otto, by moving here...she had tried to change things that should not have been changed. And in doing so, she'd brought trouble for Otto.

In the reasoning of her little girl mind, if she wasn't meant to be happy, and her being happy had brought trouble to the person she loved more than anything, then there was only one thing to do. Silent tears leaked out of her eyes, but Mouse wiped them away. Now that the solution had come to her, she was resolute. She slid off the bed, and pulled her old clothes and boots out of the back of her closet. Changing into them, she carefully folded her newer clothes, leaving them on the bed. She picked up Bob's jar of water, and Tonto, and quietly padded out of her room.

Otto and Robin weren't in the lab or the kitchen, so Mouse assumed they were in Otto's bedroom. She could faintly hear the actuators clicking in there. Moving softly and quickly, she got her bag from Otto's lab table. She removed the library books, stacking them neatly where the bag had been, and put the bag over her shoulder.

Going to the front door, she slid on her boots, and looked mournfully at her coat. She loved that coat...but no, it would be better to leave Otto and Robin's life as she had come. She pulled a worn knitted cap out of the pocket of her old pants, and tugged it onto her head. With Tonto and Bob secured in her bag, she took one last look at the apartment. At the life she just wasn't meant to have. And then she slipped out, the only sound of her departure the soft click of the front door.

_Skree!_

The physical sound of metal scraping against metal and the mental 'sound' of the actuators screaming at him to wake up jolted Otto out of what had been a very pleasant sleep.

"What?" he demanded crossly. The chatter of voices in his head cleared until he could make sense of it, and he froze.

"Robin? Get up. Larry says Mouse is gone again- she left."

Robin woke up, faster than most humans. She blinked, and shook her head. "Why would she..." But that didn't matter now. She waved a hand, Glamouring her clothes back on and Otto's sweater out of the closet.

"Want me to grab her?" she asked. The child wouldn't get far, either way-it was really more a matter of if she would react better to Robin or Otto.

"How the hell would I know why she'd do something like this?" he demanded, getting up to pull his clothes on. Robin's Glamour took care of that little task, however.

He tugged on a pair of shoes as Flo darted out to grab his coat and Mo fetched his sunglasses. "No, I need to be there too. I'm the one who's supposed to be responsible for her, dammit. Can you track her?"

Robin nodded, moving to the door. "She hasn't gotten downstairs yet. Probably took the back stairs.

She followed him to the hallway, took and quick whiff, and nodded. "Back stairs. Sounds like she just hit the outside door." The child must have been moving, to have already made it to the street.

Otto nodded and headed towards the balcony. Having the actuators afforded him a much quicker method of getting to street level than the stairs or elevator.

He climbed down the building as quickly as he could without making the actuators leave too many claw marks. Up ahead, Mo spotted a tiny figure leaving from the back door of their building.

"Mouse!" Otto called, racing to her side. "Mouse, what are you doing?"

Mouse froze at the sound of Otto's voice. She considered running, but Robin was descending in Otto's wake, and the child knew she wasn't fast enough to get away from them both. Just the actuators could catch her without much trouble. Robin would have her before she could blink.

So she turned slowly to face him, trepidation and resolve lurking in her eyes. Couldn't he see that it would be better for him if she were gone? He'd wanted to send her away before-maybe not wanted to, but was going to. Now she could just leave, and he wouldn't have to worry about her bad luck following him around.

Robin came down behind Otto, sending out a minor spell to keep anyone from looking out their windows and seeing the famed Doc Ock chasing down a little girl. It was starting to get dark, but it wasn't dark enough. And they weren't on the rooftops.

Otto crouched in front of Mouse, ignoring the fiery protests from his leg, and took her by the shoulders. "Mouse, please," he said. His voice trembled a little. Restrained fear and confusion made it unsteady. "What's wrong? Why did you try to leave?"

_does she not like us anymore we didn't keep her safe we're supposed to protect her is that why why why why_ Larry trilled and nosed at the child's hand like a sad puppy.

Mouse stiffened when Otto touched her, tears coming to her eyes. She didn't _want_ to leave. She just _had_ to. If she didn't, then bad things were going to keep coming. And Otto deserved to be happy. He'd had too many bad things happen to him already. Besides, he had Robin. Robin could keep him happy.

She lightly ran a finger across Larry's head, giving him the softest sad chirp she could manage. She didn't want him to be sad. Squeezing her eyes shut, she shook her head, her hair falling into her face. A few tears escaped, leaking down her face. Why did everything have to be so _hard_? Her head hurt, she was tired and thirsty, and her stomach felt bad, all queasy and tied in knots.

He automatically let her go when she flinched, hating that it was still her reaction when touched unexpectedly. Larry, however, remained where he was, and Flo curled behind her to keep her from bolting.

"Please, Mouse," he said, "I need you to come home. I promise, no one is ever going to try and take you away again."

Mouse kept her eyes closed, hanging her head. She seemed to shrink into herself. Her resolve was failing her, and her body felt so icky that the idea of just going back upstairs seemed so much better than trekking back to the warehouse.

A light rain began to fall. Mouse flinched at the sudden cold drops. The cool air had helped to lift a little of the grogginess from her head, but the rain was almost too much for her. She looked up, and shivered. The light drizzle became harder, the icy rain becoming more of a slushy mix as the temperature dropped a few more degrees.

Mouse stepped closer to Otto, almost instinctively. A few more tears fell free, hidden now by the rain.

"That's my girl," he murmured, himself oblivious to the slushy precipitation. He scooped her up, hugging her tightly. Not all of the wetness on his face was from the rain. "Come on, let's go back inside."

Casting a glance over his shoulder at Robin, he took Mouse back upstairs and into the apartment. He settled her on the couch and went to make a cup of hot chocolate for all three of them. Larry hung back in the main room to keep an eye on Mouse.

_don't want her running off again no not again didn't like it the first time_

Mouse sat obediently on the couch, hugging her knees to her chest. Robin ran a soothing hand over her head, then followed Otto into the kitchen to see if she could help.

"You alright?" she asked softly, laying a hand on his arm.

Otto ran his fingers through his hair, making it stand on end. "I'm fine," he said. "I just don't understand why she would run off like that. Did I do her a disservice by not being her when she woke up? God, I don't know..."

Robin rubbed his arm. "It's not your fault," she said. "Children have a funny way of blaming themselves for things. I imagine she probably thinks the kidnapping was her fault and that you'd be better off without her."

The faerie reached up, smoothing his hair back into place. "Even if you'd been with her when she woke up, she'd still be feeling the shame and guilt that she's feeling now." She sighed, and grabbed the kettle from the stove. "Don't be surprised if she lapses into her old ways."

Otto sighed and measured out cocoa mix into the three mugs. "But it's not her fault!" he protested, just loud enough that Mouse would be able to hear him if she were at all listening. "Some sick bastard was trying to get to _me_, for whatever reason. It's not her fault."

God, now he remembered why he hadn't cared if that second reactor blew up. Because there were people like that in the city.

Robin nodded in agreement, pouring hot water into the mugs. "I know that. And you know that. Convincing her of that will be an entirely separate matter." There was no way of knowing exactly what was going through the little girl's mind. Though Robin suspected there may have been more to her reasoning than guilt.

Robin pulled some milk out of the fridge, and gave it a sniff. With a shrug, she poured a little into a bowl, and stuck a finger in it. It became whipped cream-real, proper whipped cream, to be spooned into the hot chocolate. Sticking the milk back into the refrigerator, she watched Otto stir the mugs slowly.

"It'll be alright," she said softly.

He'd run his hand through his hair again, so that it stood up once more. "I hope so," he said. He'd never considered a future where Mouse would try to run away from him, from their home. The act of doing so just seemed impossible in connection with his ideas of Mouse.

He handed the mugs to Robin for the addition of whipped cream- the existence of which brought a dry smile to his face- and took two out to the main room. Sitting next to Mouse, he handed one to her.

"Do you trust me, Mouse?" he asked.

Mouse looked up from where her head had been tucked into her knees. She nodded, not hesitating with such a simple question. She wrapped her hands around the hot mug, grateful for the warmth. Though when she took a sip, the sweetness of the hot chocolate made her stomach churn even worse.

She pouted a little-she wanted the hot chocolate, but it made her feel even more sick. Setting it aside, she relooped her arms around her legs, watching Otto carefully. Of course she trusted him. Trusting Otto was like breathing-it was just something she did. Leaving had nothing to do with not trusting him. It was just that she wanted him to be happy, and if not safe, then at least better off than he would be with her.

He took a sip of his cocoa, trying to buy a little time while he sorted out how he wanted to say this. Larry noticed that she didn't seem to want hers and looped around her shoulders, careful to not rest any significant portion of his weight on her.

"I need you to trust me when I say this," Otto said. "What happened is _not_ your fault. It has nothing to do with you. Those men chose to try and hurt me by going after you. It's their fault that you're scared and upset right now, not yours. Does that make sense?"

Mouse looked at him. She wanted to believe him-that desire was clear in her eyes. But doubt lingered there as well. If bad men kept hurting her, then didn't it mean that she deserved it? One or two nice people in her life didn't mean that she wasn't still being bad somehow.

"Oh Mouse," he said quietly, resting a hand on her shoulder. "You don't deserve this. You don't deserve to have people keep trying to hurt you. Anyone who tells you otherwise is wrong." She shouldn't be blaming herself for what adults did to each other.

She was thirsty, but the hot chocolate was too hot and sweet for her. She slipped off the couch, and went to the kitchen for a glass of milk. Bringing it back to the couch, she slid back into her former position, drinking half the glass down quickly.

Mouse tightened her grip on her cup. The milk helped the fuzziness on her tongue, shrinking it back down to normal size. Her throat wasn't so dry now.

But she couldn't help wondering over his words. Otto was the smartest person she'd ever known. Maybe even the smartest person in the world. But couldn't he be wrong about this? Maybe it was her fault, and he was just too nice and good to realize it. Maybe it was something only bad people saw, like Devon.

Mouse curled into the corner of the couch, a soft whimper escaping her. She didn't want to think about any of this right now. The milk felt good on her throat, but her stomach still felt queasy, and even the thought of food just made it worse. She hadn't eaten anything that day, and that combined with the aftereffects of the sedative made her just feel sick. She really just wanted to crawl into Otto's lap until she felt better, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.

The actuators were having none of the 'huddled in a corner' routine. With a chirp and a brisk manner more evocative of Mary Poppins than a set of metal tentacles with minds of their own, Flo and Larry gathered the child up and deposited her on Otto's lap. He gave them a sarcastic look, which they returned, and he stroked Mouse's hair.

"It's not your fault," he murmured again. "It's never been your fault. Bad people like to blame other people for what they themselves do."

Mouse closed her eyes, and snuggled against Otto's chest. She let him take the cup of milk from her when her grip on it slackened. She always felt safe when Otto held her. But this time was a little different, even if she wasn't exactly sure why.

This time, when tears came to her eyes, she didn't try to stop them. They came free, big silent tears, streaking down her face. The tears of a tired child, crying because they just can't really stop. For Mouse, it was a buildup of years of pain and frustration and sadness, breaking free at the acknowledgment of truly being loved.

He grimaced a little, thinking at first that he'd upset her. Gradually, he thought he became aware of a different 'tone' of her crying. Larry confirmed it- there was indeed a difference in the way she was crying, as compared to true sadness or fear.

_let her cry_ Flo suggested, lightly preening the girl's hair. So he did, sitting there with his arms around Mouse, murmuring quiet little nothings, letting her cry herself out and make a big soggy patch on his coat. The coat could take it, it was designed to be waterproof. Whether or not it was runny-nose-proof, on the other hand, would be determined shortly. This actually wasn't new to Otto. There had been several times when he'd done just this for Rosie when she was deeply upset over something. Mouse was just a little smaller.

Mouse sniffed as her tears started to dry up, running her sleeve under her nose. In a weird way, she felt a little better. Granted, her head hurt again, and her nose was all stuffy and runny, and she still felt like she might be sick. But on the inside, she felt a little better. A little calmer. Something unknown to her had settled itself, and she relaxed.

He hugged her tightly and kissed the top of her head. "That's better," he said. At his direction, Mo and Harry snaked into the kitchen and poured a glass of club soda. They added a little bit of white grape juice, then brought the concoction back and offered it to Mouse.

"It should help your stomach," Otto explained, brushing her hair from her damp face. "Are we alright now? No more trying to run off?"

Mouse accepted the glass, giving it a cautious sniff. Oh well...if he said it would help. She nodded her agreement-no more trying to run off. Then she sipped the club soda carefully. It did seem to help a little.

Robin had watched them from the doorway to the kitchen, nursing her own mug of hot chocolate. Now she abandoned it, found a pack of saltine crackers in the cupboard, and carried them over to the couch. "Here," she said, handing them to Mouse. "Ought to get something solid in you before you try to eat anything else." It would keep her from getting sick later.

Mouse smiled at the faerie, accepting the sleeve of crackers but not opening them. She took another sip of the soda, and rested her head against Otto. Maybe things would be okay now.

"That's my girl," Otto said fondly. Two crises in one day, both thankfully averted. Two crises more than he really wanted to deal with. He quite hoped they were done with crises for a while. Was a quiet existence truly too much to ask for?

He cocked his head slightly as Flo relayed something to him. "Someone was here earlier?" he asked Robin, curious.

Robin rolled her eyes. "No one likes a tattletale," she told Flo. She sat on the coffee table, legs crossed under her. "Yes. Oberon stopped by for a moment while you were asleep. Just checking in on me-he knew I'd...he knew what I'd done, and wanted to make sure everything was alright. He couldn't get anything through our connection, because of...well..._us_. He just wanted to make sure a hobgoblin wasn't running mad through New York City." It wasn't the clearest of explanations, but there was only so much she could say with Mouse here.

Mouse, for her part, drank more of the club soda, watching the adults carefully. She took out a cracker, chewing on it, careful not to shed crumbs around.

Flo made a grating sound and turned away from Robin, like a teenage girl ignoring her mother. He did not especially care for the idea of strange faeries stopping by his apartment, but he could hardly argue with Oberon's logic. Robin, as he'd seen, could be lethal, and if she ever decided to go on a spree...

But after she was done being lethal... _damn_. If the actuators hadn't woken him, he'd still be asleep.

"Alright," he said, taking a sip of his cocoa. "I just don't care for people I haven't met swinging by my apartment, that's all."

Robin shrugged, laughing a little. "Sorry. But Oberon doesn't exactly do the concept of "mortal boundaries." When you've lived as long as we have, property passes hands far too often to worry about such things. To us, it's just all the earth. We go where we need to go."

But she smiled at him, leaning forward to trace circles on his knee. "But I'll pass along the message anyway."

He smiled fondly at her as Mo looped around her shoulders. "Thanks," he said. "I'd greatly appreciate that. So hard to sleep when just anyone might drop by, you know?"

Flo nudged his arm. _don't be silly have us to watch for you_

True. The actuators didn't usually sleep like living creatures did. They would go into standby mode to conserve energy, but sometimes they did that in shifts. Someone was usually 'awake'.

Robin rolled her eyes, and leaned forward off the table to give him a kiss. Mouse couldn't help but grin, and shoved a cracker in her mouth to hide it. She liked seeing the two of them like this. Maybe Robin would stay with them all the time. That would be nice. They could be a proper family then.


	13. Chapter 12: All Things Great and Small

A/N: Otto finally realizes something important, Robin does something special, and Mouse starts on the road to academia.

Disclaimer: Nope. Not ours.

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Chapter 13: Of Things Great and Small

Mouse sat on the couch, one of her library books in her lap. She stared blankly at the pages. She hadn't been in the mood to make up any stories, and now the words seemed to taunt her, because she was too stupid to know what they actually meant.

She knew her letters, and her name. A few other words she'd learned to pick out from Otto reading to her. But that was it. And now she had access to so many books, and couldn't enjoy them for herself. She wanted to _read_, not just look at the pictures. The bigger books in the children's room didn't have that many pictures. And she wanted to know what was in them. But no matter how hard she concentrated on the squiggles on the page, they just didn't make sense.

Frustrated, Mouse shoved the book off her lap. It clattered to the floor. She crossed her arms, pouting, not bothering to pick the book up. Devon had been right. She was a stupid little retard-too stupid to talk, and too stupid to read, apparently.

Otto set down the knife he was using to slice mushrooms and looked around the corner to see what the problem was. Larry was already picking up the discarded book, chittering in a mildly scolding tone.

"We don't treat library books like that, Mouse," Otto said. To soften the rebuke, and because she was clearly unhappy about something, he added in a gentler tone, "What's wrong?"

Mouse gave him a bit of a glare-she _knew_ how to handle library books, she'd always been so careful with them in the past. She was just mad. Larry sat the book on the edge of the coffee table, and she kicked at it, moving it a bit further away from her.

"Stupid," she muttered, more to herself than Otto. "S-stupid retard."

He blinked, startled to hear her saying that. "You are _not_," he told her. Larry squawked and moved the book to safety, where she couldn't kick it again.

Otto looked at the volume, a copy of Chrysanthemum with a picture of a little anthropomorphic girl-mouse on the cover. "Are you having trouble reading?" It was the only thing he could think of that might cause her such frustration.

Mouse stared straight ahead, refusing to look at him. She had always let Otto think she could read, because she was afraid that he wouldn't want her if he knew how stupid she was. Otto was so smart, surely he wouldn't want a little girl that was dumb. She glared at the book, her lower lip stuck out slightly in a mad pout.

No, it was more than the book giving her trouble. Was she... unable to read? Hell, that had never occurred to him. She probably couldn't. That hellhole she'd lived in wasn't exactly the kind of environment that encouraged scholastic pursuits.

"You weren't ever taught to read, were you?" he asked, trying to make his expression one that could not be interpreted as any way disapproving. "We can fix that, you know."

Mouse's eyes slid sideways to look at Otto for a brief moment, before she went back to scowling. As smart as Otto was, she was a little annoyed with him for only just now figuring out that she couldn't read. She didn't understand the feeling-it was one of those that just was. He knew that she couldn't read clocks, though she understood some numbers well enough. He had probably figured out that she'd never been to school. So why didn't he know that she couldn't read?

Though she didn't acknowledge what he had said-she was not _admitting_ that she couldn't read, not now-she did wonder what he meant by fixing it. Was learning to read hard? Could he teach her?

"It's not horrendously difficult to learn." He really was an idiot sometimes, for not realizing that she didn't know how to read. He didn't exactly have much experience with children, after all. He also had no idea how to teach her. She knew her name, that he was sure of, and she had a grasp of letters and a probably few stray words- anyone who listened to the stories as voraciously as she did would have picked that much up at least.

"I'm not entirely certain just how to go about teaching you, but we'll manage alright, I think. Do you want to learn?" He asked the last with a slight smile.

Mouse finally looked at him, and nodded slowly. Yes, she wanted to learn. She wanted to learn so much. There were so many stories, and she wanted to find them. Besides, if she learned to read, she wouldn't be limited by the picture books.

"Yes," she answered. "V-very much."

Otto nodded and gave her a quick hug. "Good. I have to go finish making dinner, so why don't you go play with Bob and Tonto for a while? I'll start looking into things to help you learn tonight."

Flo squawked at him. _or have us link to the computer we can look for you_

"On second thought, I'll have Flo look now. Alright?"

Mouse nodded again, her anger dissipating. That would be nice.

Getting to his feet, Otto returned to the kitchen to finish making dinner. True to what he had told Robin, he _was_ an able cook. Admittedly, his meals tended to wander entire spectra of cuisines, but no one had complained yet. He simply made sure that there were at least one or two 'familiar' things for every 'odd' one. The goal was to get Mouse used to as wide a variety of foods as possible. After all, food was good and infinitely varied. There was no reason to limit oneself.

Flo and Larry stayed behind to link up to the computer, immediately beginning to hunt the internet for ideas on teaching a child how to read.

Robin breezed into the apartment, a large brown bag in her hands. She was also wearing a beret and humming an old French song. "Bonjour mes chéris," she said cheerfully, coming into the kitchen and giving Otto a kiss on the cheek. "I got the bread. And some wine. And chocolate éclairs for dessert."

"Bonjour mon amour," Otto replied with a smile, dumping some of the food into the pan.

She started pulling things out of the bag, and looked over at the stuffed mushrooms. "Smells wonderful." She shook her head fondly. "A man who cooks. Your kind is a rarity in this world, you know."

Mo chirped and curled around her waist to nudge her closer to Otto as Larry plucked the beret from her head and dropped it onto Mouse's. The felt hat fell over her eyes.

"Thank you. Did you honestly stop by France for this?" The bread was still warm, and smelled wonderful.

Robin laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Is there anywhere else to go for wine and bread?" she asked. She gave him a kiss, and offered the bottle of wine for his inspection. She turned to start putting the éclairs on a plate.

"There's this lovely little village south of Bordeaux. _Fantastic_ winery. And a baker in Lyon whose family has owned the same bakery for over a hundred years. His baguettes are perfection...mhmm." She kissed her fingertips in appreciation. "Paris is nice for tourists, but it's the little places that are the gems."

She smiled at Mouse, who was pushing the beret out of her eyes, peeking into the kitchen. Robin reached over, arranging the hat properly on her head. It was still too big, but now it tilted to the side like it was supposed to.

Otto grinned and set the wine aside, nodding his approval. "It sounds wonderful," he said, a little wistfully. "I did a lecture tour in France once, but we never went outside Paris. Always wanted to do more traveling."

He transferred the stuffed mushrooms to a serving plate while the actuators poured sauce over the chicken and picked up the bowl of salad. "I think we're about ready here."

Robin grabbed some plates in one hand and a couple of wineglasses with the other. She went to set them on the table. Coming back into the kitchen, she poured Mouse a glass of milk, and grabbed the silverware. Otto brought the food in to the table, and they took their seats.

Mouse eyed the stuffed mushrooms with the slightly suspicious eye of a child trying to decide if they'll like a new food by sight alone. Robin poured wine for herself and Otto, then tore off a hunk of bread for Mouse.

Otto slid one of the smaller mushrooms onto Mouse's plate for her to sample as the actuators buttered a piece of bread for him. "Just taste," he said, also adding some of the chicken, which he knew she liked. "I haven't made anything bad since that night with the olives, now have I?"

Flo snickered. That had been an interesting night, to say the least.

Mouse poked the mushroom with her fork, still a bit apprehensive. She was still getting used to fresh foods, and some of them were less appealing than others. She loved fruits, but there were some things-like olives-that she just didn't like.

Finally, she cut off a small piece, and tried it. Alright, it wasn't bad. She still wasn't sure about it-Mouse liked simple foods-but it wasn't bad. She shrugged, and tried a little more. Otto was a good cook.

Robin smiled, exchanging a look with Otto and winking at him. She tried a bit of the mushrooms herself, nodding. "Very nice," she said, swirling her wine in her glass and taking a sip.

"Thank you." Otto smiled with pleasure.

The rest of the meal passed pleasantly. Mouse at least finished the mushroom she'd been given, though she declined more. The éclairs, on the other hand, were much more to her taste. Otto cleared the table when they were finished.

As he carried one of the dishes into the kitchen, his foot caught on the carpet and he stumbled. Fighting to catch his balance, he felt a flare of pain up his leg and into his spine.

"Gah- son of a -" He bit his lip, trying to keep from swearing in front of Mouse.

Robin had his arm in a moment, helping to stabilize him, and sending out a glamour to soothe the pain. "Come here," she said, leading him over to the couch. She got him seated, and mustered up a bit more power in her touch to stop the spazzing nerves.

Mouse bit her lip, looking worried. Robin gave her a smile. "Mouse, be a dear and finish clearing the table?" The child hesitated, then nodded, carrying dishes into the kitchen.

Robin shifted her attention back to Otto, running her hand through his hair as his breathing started to ease. "You know, I've been thinking about something," she said. "What would you think about seeing if Titania and Jack could repair the damage to your spine? Fix you leg?" She gave him a small smile. "It would be a lot of work, but it just might be worth it. Be worth it for you to not be in such pain all the time."

"It's not all the time," he growled. Flo nuzzled him as he mentally tallied the number of times he'd had one of these attacks in the past few weeks.

_it is often_ she said.

Damn, she was right. He growled again.

"Shhh," Robin soothed, rubbing his shoulders. "It's not as though you've got anything to loose, yeah? I'll give them a chat. See what we can do." She smiled at him. "After all, returning things to their natural order is what Titania does. If there's any chance at all...she'll be able to do it."

One of her hands went down to rub his leg. "I've also been thinking...that I might be able to do something about your eyes." Her healing skills were not as powerful as Jack or Titania's, but she'd been getting some pointers from the pooka. She was reasonably certain that she could at least repair the damage that made her love so sensitive to light.

"You can do that?" he asked. He hadn't been really aware that healing was part of her repertoire of tricks. He knew she could ease the pain in his leg, but there was a vast difference before easing a momentary spasm and healing the kind of permanent damage his eyes had suffered. "Hell, what am I saying, of course you can."

Robin smiled at him. "Well...it's not something I usually do. Hobgoblins are better suited for ripping apart than putting back together. But I've been brushing up on my healing skills. Shouldn't be a problem." She looked around the room. Mouse had finished clearing the table, and had gone ahead and wiped it down, since that was her usual chore. Now she was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, watching them.

"It's alright, little one. Would you mind turning down the lights?" Mouse went over to the light switch, standing on her toes to reach it, bringing the slider down. Robin smiled at her as she came a little closer.

The faerie slid off Otto's sunglasses, setting them aside. She moved to sit on the coffee table, s that she could be directly across from him. "Just relax." Closing her eyes briefly, she opened them again. They were glowing faintly with green power.

She looked at him for a long moment, studying the inner workings of his head. Then she placed her hands over his eyes. He closed them instinctively. Mouse watched carefully as Robin closed her own eyes, and her hands glowed bright green. The glow ran down Robin's arms to her hands, and reached out to spread over Otto's head. They stayed that way for what felt like a long time, Robin's face scrunched up in concentration.

Then, the glow faded. Robin opened her eyes, weariness dulling them somewhat. But she squeezed Otto's hand, and turned to smile at Mouse. She gestured towards the lights, and Mouse went over to turn them back up.

"Open your eyes," Robin instructed.

"But the lights are-" he began. He could see the glow of them through his eyelids. Then he realized that it didn't make his eyes hurt.

Gingerly, he cracked them open, ready to squeeze them shut once more the instant he felt pain. None came. Encouraged, he opened them. Robin smiled at him, and he smiled back.

"It worked."

Robin leaned forward, cupping his face in her hand, and kissed him. "Of course it did," she answered, though her voice didn't quite achieve its usual confidence. She had used quite a bit of power, in a relatively short amount of time. Her healing had been more focusing her regenerative abilities into his eyes and the nerves beyond than any delicate technique. Though he would probably find the pain in his leg less after this as well.

Unfortunately, such an exhaust of energy so quickly made her a bit lightheaded as she shifted from the table to the couch. She looked up at him, enjoying the fact that she'd done something right. "At least now I'll get to look at your eyes properly most of the time," she said, leaning her head on his shoulder.

He hugged her tightly, returning her kiss with gratitude. "Thank you, Robin," he said. This would make things a lot easier, and out of all the injuries he'd received, it was the one to his eyes that hindered him the most. Sunglasses were odd to wear inside, and the few times he'd lost or broken them... not pleasant.

Flo dropped down in front of his face, and he was able to look at her and the scarlet light in the middle of her jaws without flinching. He grinned at the actuator as she fed him an image of him looking at her, sans sunglasses or goggles.

"You, Robin, are amazing. Have I mentioned that lately?"

"Mmhmm," Robin answered, closing her eyes. Just for a few moments, then she really ought to go help clean up the dishes. "Of course I am. 'm The Puck."

Mouse came closer, trying to understand what had happened. Otto wasn't flinching away from the lights. Robin must have fixed his eyes.

That seemed to be a good thing-Otto certainly appeared happy about it-though Robin's skin had lost its healthy shine. The faerie kept her eyes closed, gradually sinking towards sleep. Well, maybe just a quick nap, she thought. Then I'll be good as new.

Otto kissed the top of the dozing faerie's head and settled her on the couch with a blanket over her. There were dishes to do.

"Come give me a hand?" he asked, grinning at Mouse. It was almost startling to be able to see her in true colors through his own eyes, rather than darkly sepia-toned or through one of the cameras. "Let's let Robin sleep for a while. Flo found some websites geared towards helping children learn to read, so afterwards, you and I can take a look at them. Sound fun?"

_someone's in a good mood_ Mo quipped.

Of course he was in a good mood. He could damn well see again!

Mouse nodded, and dragged her little stool over to the sink so that she could help dry dishes. She couldn't help but return Otto's grin-it was so rare to see him smiling, properly smiling. But then, Robin tended to bring that out in him.

She carefully dried the dishes that were handed to her, though at one point Larry whipped over to catch a plate that she dropped. When they were done, Otto took her over to the computer, and helped her up onto one of the tall lab stools in front of it.

Mouse bit her lip, trying not to feel too nervous. But a part of her was afraid that Otto was wrong, and that she really was too stupid to learn to read. The last thing she wanted was to disappoint him.

Otto logged on to his computer, then quickly set about creating a limited account for Mouse to use so she wouldn't accidentally alter any of his files. He added a few parental security protocols for her internet access before switching over to her account and bringing up one of the sites Flo had found.

"Alright," he said, scooting Mouse and her stool in front of the computer proper. "Computer Use 101. You tell the computer what you want to do with the keyboard and the mouse here." He grinned a little at that. Mouse using the mouse. "Move the mouse around, and it moves the cursor on-screen so you can click on things. If you click on something clickable, it will do whatever the program tells it to do. It depends on what you're doing. The keyboard has letters, numbers, and other commands on it, so you can write onscreen and the like. Yes, the letters are all out of order. It's designed that way so that the most commonly used letters are the easiest to reach. There are games to help you learn to type properly, but for now we'll focus on the reading. Okay so far?"

Mouse bit her lip harder and nodded. She had watched Otto use the computer before, so she had some idea of what he was talking about. Still, the whole thing rather scared her. What if she messed something up? Otto was picky about things in his lab. He wouldn't like it if she messed up something on the computer. She squirmed a little on the stool, then settled.

He patted her shoulder, recognizing that look. "Just be careful," he told her, setting her hand on the mouse. "You really can't mess up the computer, Mouse. We can fix pretty much anything you could do to it short of spilling something on it."

Larry dug out the headphones and set them on her head, then switched the sound on, but not too loud.

"Follow the instructions that are read to you. The games will start easy, then get more difficult. Just follow the instructions."

Mouse took a deep breath, and nodded. She adjusted the headphones a little better, then put her hand over the mouse. Cheery music sounded through the headphones, bright and colorful letters popping onto the screen.

Brow furled in concentration, she started the first game. It was starting with letters-something she knew. Relaxing a little, she maneuvered through the screen, only struggling with the mouse a little. It was too big for her hand to grip properly, but she managed.

Pretty soon, she'd all but forgotten Otto's presence, all of her attention focused on what she was doing. She was surprised that she knew a bit more than she thought she did.

He and the actuators watched her playing for a while, making sure she was understanding the concepts being presented. So far, so good.

Pleased with her progress, he went back to sit with Robin, who still dozed on the couch. She was an absolutely incredible creature. Beautiful, clever, talented, exotic... always able to surprise him. And she'd done so much for him and Mouse. He was happy with her, happier than he'd been since before Rosie had died.

Mo had teased him about having a crush on her. Was he perhaps falling in love with Robin?

Robin woke up just enough to recognize Otto's warmth, snuggling back against him. She looked up at him, half asleep. "Ev'rything al'ight?" she asked blearly. Some part of her brain recognized that it was nice, looking up and seeing warm brown eyes.

Otto smiled at her, the expression crinkling the corners of his eyes. "Everything's fine," he assured her. He stroked her hair idly, just toying with the soft strands. "Kitchen's all cleaned up and Mouse is over there learning how to read. She seems to be doing rather well." His fingers lightly brushed the spot behind her left ear.

Robin purred, nuzzling his hand. "Good," she muttered. "Readin's good. For some people." She closed her eyes again, groaning softly. Her head ached a little.

"'ope you don't mind a crasher," she said, starting to drift asleep again.  
"Of course not," Otto replied, now rubbing the spot behind her ear since she seemed to enjoy it so much. "You're always welcome here. Go ahead and rest."

He looked down at her as she dozed off. It felt like he needed to say something to her.

Flo nudged him. _go on_ she urged, without a hint of her usual sarcasm. _you know what to say say it already_

Yes, he did know what to say.

"I love you, Robin," he murmured.

The words caught in Robin's brain as sleep reclaimed her. He loved her. Wasn't that bad? She wasn't supposed to let anyone fall in love with her. Because changelings couldn't fall in love. Or weren't supposed to, at any rate.

But she was too tired to ponder it for now. She just smiled faintly, and drifted off into pleasant dreams.


End file.
